The Beast And The Fairy
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: An ancient and once-peaceful forest is thrown into a spiral of war and disarray, as two species collide in a dangerous, antagonistic display of stealing and violence. When the princess of fairies goes missing, the beasts are blamed. Two girls from opposing sides must come together, but time is running out before the soil begins to run red. [Fairy and Beast AU] for Dash!
1. The Forest At War

**This is the first of a multi-chapter fic set in dashingicecream's Fairy and Beast AU. You can check her blog and tags for art of this adorable AU. A lot of what I've written is my own interpretations of what goes on in the AU, but future chapters will relate back to some of Dash's artwork.**

 **This first chapter is mainly world-building, so sorry that it isn't much. But I want to dedicate it all to dashingicecream herself for her birthday! Thanks for all you do, Dash!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 1. The Forest At War

In the deep, green, woods - where sunlight dappled every leaf in-discriminatorily and bathed every blade of grass in golden rays - resided a hidden world.

Unseen to the human eye, and unexplored by their feet, it had gone unnoticed for countless eons.

The most that had ever been discovered by a mortal eye or shared in oral tales were nothing more than a few uncertain glimpses of flitting wings, or tidbits that had been passed down through word of mouth in order to eventually create fantastical legends.

It was a kingdom like no other.

The trees were humungous, enough to dwarf other, more commonly-exploited forests. Within the bark of the massive trees had been carved houses, complete with windows to peer out of and doors to fit wings through.

But it wasn't birds or animals that resided in these houses – at least not all of them.

The fairies were about the size of humans themselves, if not a bit smaller. But the size of the untouched forests they lived in were generous enough to accommodate them, the trees strong enough to support the weight of dozens of fairies at a time.

Given their magics, they were rather lightweight beings, weighing only half the amount one might expect upon first glance. That was one of the many reasons why it was crucial for them to stay inside their homes during storms and windy days – a particularly strong breeze could easily bowl a fairy out of the sky and take them miles away from familiar lands.

They had constructed their homes to be big enough to house several fairies, a bit higher up in the treetops, close to the trucks to prevent them from swaying in harsh winter blizzards or summer thunderstorms.

The smaller houses they'd constructed a little ways below had been created out of goodwill and love for the animals and birds they shared the forest with.

Fairies were a species who lived to demonstrate their appreciation for the world around them. They knew all too well that this forest was by no means their own.

The birds and bats who lived in the treetops alongside them had few means by which to construct nests and roosts for themselves. And so, the fairies took the tasks on for themselves, charitable projects to partake in during their copious amounts free time once daily chores were finished.

Using tools they could hold in their hands and fingers, they would set to work in doing what their winged companions couldn't; carving the wood of the trees, pulling and tying branches together, and constructing the final products.

It was an everyday task for the selfless fairies. There were always new birds moving into the forest in the daytime, or new bats flitting in at dusk. Some only used the houses for a brief period of time in-passing, but permanent residents for the season would stake their claims early-on.

In return for building them safe havens up in the treetops, the birds rewarded the fairies in various ways. Sometimes, a mother bird would allow the fairies to peek into her nest to observe her eggs and hatchlings. Sometimes the birds would lead the fairies to the most berry-abundant bushes in the forest to help them gather food.

It was the same for the bats as well – in exchange for the fairies building them protected roosts in the trees, the bats were always certain to gobble up every pesky mosquito and insect that could potentially harm a fairy.

The winged creatures of the forest all shared symbiotic relationships.

The only enemies they all shared were hawks – monstrous, silent shadows that promised chaos and death. Though full-grown fairies were far too large to be considered targets for the predatory birds, hawks did still post threats from time to time. When the birds had eluded their detection, they'd gone so far as to attack young fairies in the past, and had damaged many wings with their sharp, merciless talons.

Luckily, the fairies' weight was a bit too much for the birds, and help was always nearby. The worst a hawk had ever done to a fairy was tear wings, but it was very much preferred over the fates that unlucky birds were met with.

But even the horrible thoughts of a fairy getting their wings ripped by a hawk were past legends. No recent tragedies could be remembered first-hand by any present residences of the forest.

Nowadays, the fairies had means by which to stay safe during a hawk attack, and would often follow the warning calls of the crows in order to locate the raptors and spook them off.

Other than hawks, the birds and fairies were safe from any conscious forms of danger in the vast treetops, although the occasional storm did sweep by to shake their trees from time to time.

A fallen tree was a devastating toll on the entire community.

Aside from outliving their numerous decades on the planet, falling trees had used to be the number one fairy-killers in ancient times.

But as of the present time, a new threat had arisen.

The fairies called them beasts, simply because that was what they were.

They appeared to be humans and were the same sizes as them – perhaps a bit larger than fairies were.

But they all sported some kind of foreign ears and tails – the ears and tails of animals.

And yet, they _weren't_ animals, nor were they humans.

And so, the fairies called them beasts.

They were an invasive species who had prowled into the forest only in very recent years.

With the same hands and thumbs that the fairies adorned, the beasts were able to construct weapons as well. But unlike the fairies who only used them for self-defense, the beasts used them for hunting and for killing.

Fairies lived their lives on a vegetarian lifestyle, never bringing harm to the forest or its creatures. Their diets consisted only of fruits, nuts, seeds, and the occasional vegetable found growing on vines. They flew to the forest floor daily to collect these foods, and enjoyed the freedom of gliding through the fields or tall grasses where the berries grew.

However, since the vicious, bloodthirsty beasts had arrived in the forest, the fairies had more or less confined themselves to the treetops, only to graze on the highest-growing nuts, berries, and other fruits that were found out of the beasts' territories.

The spacious flower valleys and clearings below were now under seize of the beasts; the only flowers the fairies ever got to see now were from a few thousand feet up.

The two species had come to a silent, unanimous agreement; that the forests midway up each tree and above belonged to the fairies, and the forests midway down each tree to the ground belonged to the beasts.

The fairies were disgusted and appalled by the beasts' diets and tendencies to kill animals as big as the weight of a full-grown deer.

That had been the first reason as to why the members of the different species never associated with one another on friendly terms.

Another reason was the seemingly-animalistic tendencies of the beasts. They spoke the same language as the fairies, but they behaved more like foxes or wolves.

The fairies spent most of their time in the air and in the treetops, out of the beasts' territories. But it was inevitable that they'd need to land occasionally by the riverbed to drink and fill their bowls and buckets with water.

Even when the fairies traveled in numbers and were armed, the beasts would ambush them nearly half the time as the fairies were getting their water.

The beasts would utilize their animal-like stalking skills to conceal their presences, hiding in the nearby bushes around the pond or gentle-flowing areas of the river where they knew the fairies preferred to land. They'd wait until the right moment, when the fairy guards were turned the other way, and then pounce.

The beasts were selfish in their attacks, never intentionally harming the fairies.

But they certainly weren't above stealing.

They'd steal the fairies' precious jewelry, and rare stones that adorned their earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.

Fairies toiled through days upon days of hard labor in order to locate and mine these rare gems. They'd enchant them and have the stones hold small portions of their magics.

As the finders of the stones and the hard-earned workers, they liked to wear their prizes, or add them to secret collections in the treetops.

And the beasts only had interests in stealing, jumping the fairies and taking their prizes.

Many times, mother and father and older sibling fairies had flown home dejectedly, only to tell their young children there would be no gems for a while now.

The fairies began storing their gems in tree trunks and hiding them away rather than adorning them and flaunting their gorgeous, shining colors in the sunlight.

Ever since the beasts had arrived, the fairies hadn't felt safe in their own homes, not even in the daytime. The beasts weren't necessarily nocturnal, but they were often active at night as well as particular hours at dawn or dusk. They'd climb up the trees, invade the sleeping fairies' home, and steal all the gems and stones they could.

It soon came to the point of war.

The fairies would position guards to keep watch at night, and if the beasts were to invade, the guards had full permission granted by the Fairy King himself to fire their bows and arrows at will.

It had only been a few years since the beasts had come into their part of the forests, but since then, there hadn't been very many peaceful days on either side.

Arrows would get shot into the fairies' wings, immobilizing some of them for months to come. Fairies with injured wings were forbidden from leaving the treetops until they were fully recuperated and cleared by the healers; a downed fairy was as good as dead.

On rarer occasions, fairies would be mortally wounded by the beasts' weapons. The fairies ended up killing a few of the beasts as well, though it was never entirely intentional.

They'd been a peaceful species until the beasts had invaded.

The once-tranquil forest that had reigned as a safe haven for all species for many centuries was now a war zone where the soil ran a little redder with each passing day...

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 **A/N: Each chapter will be about this long, so expect shorter lengths for this fic. But there will be a large amount of chapters, short as they may be. Everything will come together in the end, so don't worry about asking too many questions! I hope it can do Dash's art and AU a bit of justice somehow.**

 **If you enjoy my writing, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	2. Journey To The River

**This chapter introduces a few of the characters and has a bit more world-building to it. Again, sorry for boring-ness ;u;**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 2. Journey To The River

Golden rays of warm sunlight filtered in through the leaves of the trees, painting the green colors a brighter, livelier yellow shade like summer itself.

Weiss was roused by a beam coming in through the small window of her room, carved high up in the branches of an ancient oak tree. It was the oldest and largest tree in the forest, and naturally the fairy king and his two daughters lived there.

In her younger years, Weiss had always felt safe up in her room, resting on soft, downy bird feathers and moss, curled beneath a blanket quilted from fuzzy vines and flower petals.

But now, she couldn't even wake without feeling apprehensive.

The beasts had been getting bolder with their recent attacks and ambushes, so much so that the Fairy King had forbidden his daughters from going down into the forest to the river. Other fairies had been bringing them their water in buckets and small jugs constructed of stone or moss soaked in the river.

But Weiss didn't feel it was right for the others to risk their lives when collecting water while she stayed safe and sound up in her room.

She'd discussed such matters with her father last night, and her determined voice and persuasive suggestions had eventually won him over.

"Fine," he'd said. "After lunch tomorrow, you may accompany a group down to the river. But you must be armed, and take two trained guards with you."

Presently, Weiss stretched her arms above her head and unfolded her wings, letting them uncurl to their full length, about as far as her arms reached to either side. She was eager to begin the day that promised a bit of excitement, a break from the normal life she'd been forced to live daily in recent months.

A long winter had just passed them by, and the fairies had been relieved to discover that the beasts weren't as active in the colder months. They'd caused less trouble, initiated fewer ambushes, and stolen fewer things from the fairies.

Weiss and her people had even gotten a few opportunities to skate barefoot on the ice over the lake, their magics allowing them to remain unfazed by the cold.

However, the beasts didn't have such magics, it seemed, and so the fairies had discovered that winter was the one season where they could reign as they pleased, so long as they didn't intentionally antagonize the beasts.

But now spring had thawed the last of the ice, and it was all but torture to have to look down on the colorful, flower-laden world below and be unable to touch it for fear of being attacked.

Weiss couldn't remember the last season she'd touched a new flower with her own two hands in.

All they had up in the treetops were the occasional red or yellow leaf amongst the green, but there were no blues or purples like there were in flower petals. She hoped that in her journey to the river today, she might stumble upon one or two.

Weiss roused herself from bed and neatly covered her mattress of moss and feathers with her blanket. She adjusted her flowing white dress and the small sash around her waist. It was painted with blue and purple dye - a natural find amongst the bark of some of the trees combined with leaf coloring and a dash of fairy dust.

They were the colors Weiss longed to see in flowers, so she kept them close to her in whatever way she could.

Her long hair was loose and luscious, like a small cascading waterfall of pure, liquid diamond all down her back. She retrieved a small brush from her humble wooden dresser, the bristles of which were made of small vine thorns. Weiss used it to comb through her silken hair, untangling the little knots that had formed in the night.

Once it was all smooth and flawless, she put the brush aside and picked up a small hair band of sorts. Her mother had made it for her when Weiss had been very young, knowing she'd have bountiful hair.

It was the last thing Weiss had left of her late mother, and so she treasured it dearly. It consisted of woven vines and tiny white flowers, flowers that were as many years old as Weiss herself was.

By wearing the trinket each day, her magics had kept the flowers alive and well, and with them her mother's spirit wreathed around Weiss at every moment.

There was also a necklace she'd made herself with her mother and sister in her younger years, which also consisted of the same white flowers. Weiss' magics worked in much the same way to keep them alive, soft, and smelling pleasant.

Once she was ready, Weiss headed to her window and hopped onto the wooden frame.

On stormy days, she'd use the door that led to the trunk of the tree and the many rooms below. But on such a gorgeous spring morning, it would be a crime not to spread her wings the first chance she got.

So she did just that, unfurling her wings and letting them flatten out to either side. Weiss inhaled a long, slow breath, filling her lungs with the fresh scents of spring leaves and dewdrops.

With a small step, she took off flying through the tree branches, showered through with yellow light.

All around her, fellow fairies were waking as well and venturing out for their morning flights. They would flit down a few dozen feet or yards to greet their avian neighbors. If the mother birds permitted it, they'd allow the fairies to greet their fledglings.

Weiss herself visited a few nests to see how the babies were doing, to listen to the birdsong and enjoy the liveliness of the forested treetops.

But she didn't stray too far from the great oak tree she called home.

After less than half an hour of flitting about and absorbing the splotchy sunlight into her skin and wings, she changed course and doubled back to the oak.

She passed by a few snoozing squirrels and raccoons here and there, checking in on a couple more nests as she did so, until at last she found herself back in her room.

From there, she headed into the larger room a few levels below, where her family gathered for breakfast every morning. She greeted her father and sister and took her seat, which was also constructed of wood and magic.

The morning meal consisted of fruits and berries and small cups of precious water. Drinking her fill, Weiss was reminded of the day ahead she had. She wiped her mouth clean of berry juice on a small napkin of leaf before meeting her father's eyes.

"Daddy," she said. "You _do_ remember what we agreed upon for today, don't you?"

The Fairy King let out a long sigh, as though he'd hoped she would've forgotten.

"Yes, dear. I remember well."

"I'm glad."

"But don't forget," he grunted. "You must accompany a group of fairies with guards, and you must have a bow and arrows in your possession."

"I know, Daddy. I will," Weiss reassured him. "I'm very well-trained in lessons, as you know."

"...That is true," he grunted. "Your marksmanship is second to none."

"There, see?" Weiss smiled kindly, glad that she was able to ease his already-troubled mind. "I'll be just fine, Daddy. Those beasts are probably still thawing out from the winter snow, anyway. They won't bother us today just because I _happen_ to be going down to the river."

The old fairy pondered her reasonable words for a moment, then nodded his head slowly.

"Very well. Then you'll go down with the midday group to fetch water."

"Thank you, Daddy." Weiss glided over to him where he sat and kissed his cheek.

Weiss then went to her sister Winter, who stood up from her seat to embrace her.

"Be careful, Weiss," she whispered. "We're all Daddy's got left, you know."

"I know."

Even though he was the king of all the fairies in these parts of the woods, Weiss and Winter were his only blood-related family.

When the two sisters parted, Weiss hurried to the window. With one final wave over her shoulder, she jumped down and out into the air.

She glided for a moment until she'd reached a particular level of the giant oak tree, then slipped inside another opening. Here was where they stored some handmade weapons, mainly bows and arrows. Weiss had carved and used her own magics on the bow she'd created and only finished just a few days ago.

In the past, fairies had never had a need for such weapons, since they had no natural enemies or reasons to slay animals. But ever since the beasts had arrived, the docile fairies had been forced into battle more than a few times.

Weiss grabbed a handful of arrows first, sliding them carefully down her back and securing them in the sash around her waist. Her ponytail fell perfectly over them, concealing them conveniently.

She then picked up her bow, tested the strength of the string with a flick of her nails, and then slung it over one shoulder.

Satisfied that she was prepared for anything now, she exited the giant tree and headed downward a bit further.

Halfway up the trees was where the beasts' territories ended and the fairies' began. That was where a group of fairies was beginning to gather for their daily trip down to the river. Most of them carried jugs, buckets, or bowls, all objects the fairies had made themselves and cast magic on to make them lightweight and easy to fly with.

Weiss peeled a strip of moss from a nearby tree and tucked it under her arm, intending to soak it with water to carry back up to the treetops.

Upon joining the others, they were all clearly shocked to see that one of the fairy princesses was going to be making such a potentially-dangerous journey. Some of them suggested she stay in the trees, but Weiss politely insisted she tag along.

"I want to see what these beasts are capable of with my own two eyes," she declared. "And if need be, I'm armed and ready for them. I shan't let harm come to any of you."

She was as fierce and highly-trained as any guard of the kingdom, and she could tell that her mere presence here was already serving to ease the minds of some of the fairies intent to make the journey down.

They waited a few minutes for everyone to gather, sitting on tree branches or hovering in midair.

The numbers topped at fifteen for this particular journey, and once everyone was prepared, the guards began leading them down.

"Keep as silent as possible," one warned them. "The beasts have excellent hearing. If they're out of hibernation, we don't want to alert them to our positions. We just want a quiet, peaceful stop at the river."

Even so, Weiss could see clearly how uneasy the fairies became as they descended lower and lower.

The fresh, crisp scents of the warm sunlight were soon fading, and muskier scents like that of fur and soil replaced those of feathers and air.

Fewer rays of the sun reached this far down past the blossoming leaves and foliage, and the fairies became increasingly uneasy in the shadows. Beasts had better vision in the dark, so their lack of wings and inability to fly suited them rather well on the forest floor, cloaked in the undergrowth. The fairies could only see at night by emitting a bit of a glow using their magics, but for now, they needed to focus their magics on flight.

Weiss kept her eyes and ears alert for anything that sounded as big as herself.

The fluttering of birds' wings soon melted into the chittering of squirrels talking. Before very much longer, the ground was in sight, littered with leaves and bushes.

Weiss had once picked berries from those very bushes as a child, but now it was too dangerous to get them from anywhere on the ground.

As the guards kept to the front of the group, Weiss stuck to the back. The others tried to urge her toward the center, where she'd be safest if there were to be an attack. But again, Weiss politely declined the offer and insisted she keep to the back, since she was the only fairy aside from the two guards who had a weapon on her person.

As they proceeded, the world around them grew darker and darker, quieter and quieter as they spiraled lower. It was a difficult task for such a large group to go undetected, and Weiss knew the beasts - if they were active - were likely already stalking them.

There weren't many places along the river for the fairies to go and be unseen. Even after altering the times of day when they visited the water, and switching their positions along the river banks, the clans of beasts always seemed to be waiting along the shores in ambush.

The fairies had only had a peaceful winter because the beasts had been too cold to attack or move from their dens. But now with the warmer weather upon them, Weiss knew the attacks would begin again before long.

Perhaps a bit sooner than she'd initially anticipated.

Her group descended until their bare feet finally touched the ground. The guards – Weiss included – assessed that everyone was present, and then drew their weapons.

As they advanced forward toward the lake, they kept on high alert, making as little noise as possible. Weiss stuck close to one side of the group, one arrow already in place on her bow as she cast her gaze out and around the forest.

Everything seemed normal. The few rays of sunlight that could cut through this far down were shimmering over the water's surface, and the leaves in the trees were swaying calmly.

But there were no animals to be seen; no squirrels or birds, only the occasional silver belly of a fish beneath the surface of the lake.

The fact that there were no birds present was the biggest indication that something was amiss.

Without speaking, Weiss used visual cues to communicate with the rest of the group, telling them to be quick and cautious with their task.

Once their feet left the grass and began treading on dirt instead, they hurried across the final stretch of earth to meet the water's edge. Quickly, the fairies began filing up their enchanted bowls, jugs, and buckets with water. Weiss, too, put down her bow for an instant in order to dunk her strip of moss beneath the cold water to fill it.

As she was absorbing water into it, she grimaced.

This was ridiculous. Fairies were some of the most powerful species on the planet - respectful and respected.

And here they were, slinking about like prey animals in predator territory – or worse – like thieves.

This was their own forest, one they'd inhabited for centuries. Why should they be forced to sneak around as though they were intruding somewhere forbidden?

It made Weiss' stomach churn, and as she slung the water-laden moss over her shoulder, she picked up her bow and arrow once more.

She stood guard as the others filled their items with water, and Weiss was just beginning to think they would make it off the ground without incident.

A twig snapped.

And just as she whipped around and turned her arrow on the surrounding woods, the bushes came alive.

Out jumped two dozen beasts, all having at least several inches in height on the fairies, and all wielding crudely-forged weapons of stone and stick. Their eyes were covered by masks like those of bandits, with only small slits carved in to see through. Growls and snarls tumbled from their curled lips, their animal ears folded flat, and their tails lashed angrily. They moved in an organized pattern, encircling the fairies in a trap against the river.

Immediately, Weiss pressed her back against the nearest fairy to shield them, taking aim at the feet of the nearest beast. Even if they were enemies, fairies didn't seek to kill unless there were absolutely no other options available to them, and unless their own lives were in danger.

The fairies cried out, and some dropped their water, staining the soil damp as they huddled together behind their guards.

But Weiss didn't take another step back. She set her hard blue eyes on the beasts in front of her and raised only her gaze to meet theirs.

Unlike fairies who lived higher up and absorbed the white light of the sun into their skin, the beasts lived in shade, and thus their skin absorbed the shadows.

Their darker faces were contorted in fury, eyes blazing behind their masks. One of the biggest was a male with red hair and two bull-like horns atop his head, likely sharpened on the truck of a scarred tree. He wielded a long, sword-like weapon of stone and pointed it directly at Weiss.

"Fairies," he growled. "Give us all of your gems and precious stones, and we'll let you go quietly."

A fearful sweep of murmurs traveled through the fairies, and Weiss listened to their whispers intently. They weren't cowards – fairies could fight and defend themselves with their magics if not their own weapons.

But when confronted and ambushed so barbarically, they were very shy and timid creatures.

However, Weiss was the daughter of the king himself, and she raised her voice steadily to the army of beasts.

"We decline," she said. "You've stolen enough of our gems and magic in the past seasons since you've invaded our forests. You'll not take any more of them."

The boy with the bull horns snarled again and took a threatening step forward.

"Then you're asking for a fight. Prepare yourselves, fairies."

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 **A/N: Shorter chapters might accomplish fewer things than longer ones, but I feel the way chapters cut off can add more anticipation for more (especially with ones like this chapter).**

 **is Kiria Alice if you're interested!**

 **Please review!**


	3. Four Silver Hairs

**I'm starting Monochrome Mondays now, so I'll post a new chapter of this fic every Monday until it's finished!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 3. Four Silver Hairs

At the boy's haunting words, the group of beasts charged forward, weapons at the ready.

But despite their brutal actions and cunning speed, the fairies were faster.

Instantly, a protective barrier went up around the huddled group, a bright orb surrounding them. The beasts were repelled and sent backward, spitting curses. The boy with the horns called them off, and the others moved back a few paces.

"That trick stopped being impressive months ago, fairies," he said. "Don't you have anything better? We know by now that you can only uphold your little magic barrier for so long, and there's no way the group of you can fly like that. You're only delaying the inevitable. You _will_ fight us. And we _will_ win."

The beasts and fairies continued to cry out and shout at one another, but Weiss knew the boy spoke the truth. Unless a family of bears happened to trounce through this precise spot, nothing would scare off the beasts until they'd obtained what they came here for.

If it came down to a fight, Weiss was confident the fairies could win and return home majorly unharmed. But that would only be if they surrendered their gems or were robbed of them.

That was what usually ended up happening most frequently in these squabbles.

Fairies weren't violent by nature, and they would surrender if no other options were available to them, no matter how badly they detested the idea. A fairy's wings were so fragile and so important they simply couldn't risk them being damaged in a fight.

Weiss sent icy glares at all of the beasts around them, double the numbers of the fairies. She knew they'd have to fight or surrender their spoils in the end.

Her attention was drawn back to the boy with the bull horns as he laughed harshly. He was taunting one of Weiss' fellow fairy guards, who had a small shell pressed to his lips.

"Go ahead!" guffawed the beast. "Blow your little horn for reinforcements. I'll do the same." He held up a small whistle tied to a string around his neck. "Before you know it, we'll have an all-out war right here on this very spot."

Weiss watched as the guard reluctantly put the shell away into his clothes. She hurried to him, bow and arrow still on her shoulder and in her hand.

"What should we do?" she murmured.

"What we always do," he replied. "We must give them our gems. We cannot fight them."

Weiss hissed under her breath. She wouldn't accept that. The beasts had already taken far too much from her people.

She wasn't about to let them have more.

As the barrier started to dwindle around them, Weiss hatched a plan of sorts. But she didn't tell the other fairies, for she knew they wouldn't like it.

As their barrier started to fade, the boy with the bull horns stepped forward once more, his masked eyes trained on Weiss.

"Well, fairies. Your time's up. What are you gonna do?"

Weiss lifted her chin and glared defiantly at him. Then, she dropped her bow to the ground.

The boy was clearly puzzled at the action.

"What are you trying to pull?"

"I'm _pulling_ nothing," Weiss declared. "I'm going to make a deal with you heathens."

"Oh?" he scoffed. "And what kind of deal would that be?"

Weiss narrowed her eyes, then lifted one hand to comb it back through her long, silken ponytail.

"I am the eldest daughter of the Fairy King himself, and heiress to his throne. In future years, I will reign my people as Queen. Presently, I have more precious gems on my person than all of these fairies combined."

She looked around calmly at all of the beasts encircling her. She hoped her act was good enough to convince them, because truth be told, she hadn't so much as a single gem's worth on her person at the moment. Only her flowery trinkets.

But the greed and desire glowing in the beasts' eyes told Weiss they'd fallen for her little lie, and she continued in a firm tone.

"My wishes are simple. Let the fairies go unharmed and with whatever gems they have in their possession. Do not pursue them. I alone will stay behind and empty my pockets of gems to you in exchange for their freedom and my safety. Have we a deal?"

She waited, gently hushing the fretting fairies behind her and reassuring them she'd be fine.

"Tell my father I may be late in getting home this evening, but I'll get there sooner or later."

The beasts were consulting amongst themselves now, clearly intrigued by the prospect of having the Fairy Princess' prized gems for themselves. The boy with the bull horns finished muttering to the rest and finally gave his attention back to Weiss.

"We have a deal."

He raised his hand in signal, and the other beasts lowered their weapons.

Weiss looked over her shoulder and nodded to the fairies, tossing the nearest one her bundle of wet moss to take back with them. Their green and blue eyes were all full of fear for her more so than themselves.

Despite the tightness in her chest, Weiss sent them all a reassuring smile.

"I'll be home soon," she said. "Now go."

With worried nods and uncertain glances, the fairies began moving their wings. Weiss kept an eye on the beasts to make sure none of them intended to charge, but they all seemed to be behaving for now.

As the fairies ascended, Weiss felt her throat tighten more and more by the second. She had no gems to present to the beasts, and lying to them would surely only enraging them further. She could be taken hostage, and her lies would undoubtedly kindle ire and wrath within the beasts. They'd view fairies as liars and seek to harass and attack them even more strongly than they already did.

And it would be all her fault.

Weiss swallowed, then tried to inhale a deep breath as she turned back to face the beasts. The boy with the bull horns was starting to grown impatient as he waited for the fairies to fly off.

"Now then," he grunted. "Let's have those gems. If you're lying to us, it'll be your wings instead."

Weiss squared her shoulders and glared up at him, boring her gaze into the mask shielding his eyes.

"In truth, I have no gems in my possession," she confessed.

The boy was outraged. With one swift motion, he drew his sword-like weapon from his belt.

"Lying pixie!" he snarled.

"Hush, you barbarian!" Weiss snapped back at him just as ferociously. "I haven't finished speaking yet! Learn some manners, you cur!"

Her vehemence actually caused him to retreat a pace, and the other beasts remained still, ears perked and listening to her words.

Weiss went on loudly. "I've got a collection of gems stored away in this forest. Ones I keep hidden from my father and the other fairies. I gather them in secrecy. As one of the princesses of our people, I must present every gem I retrieve to the King. But I've hidden away dozens of them in an act of rebellion.

"In exchange for the location of those gems, I want your word that you beasts will stop harassing my people once and for all."

The boy with the bull horns scraped his foot in the dirt, like an oxen prepared to charge, but conflicted of exactly how to do so.

"Such a decision wouldn't be up to me," he grunted. "You'd have to speak to the leader of our clan. These must be formal negotiations, not something you and I decide in the middle of the forest without legal witnesses. How many gems are in this collection of yours?"

"Several hundred."

Weiss listened as the gasps of shock rose up around the group, eager mutterings sweeping through them. The boy with the bull horns shook his head, clearly too overwhelmed by the prospect of bringing back so many gems that he failed to understand that it was impossible – even for a fairy – to hide such a vast amount of rare stones in these woods and keep them concealed.

His greed was clouding over his reasoning, just as Weiss had anticipated it would.

The boy grunted again and shook himself like a wolf emerging from the lake.

"Take us to your stash of gems, fairy princess. Then we'll talk more about what to do about negotiations. Where are they hidden?"

"In a place only I can lead you to," Weiss declared. She wasn't one to lie often, but when she had to, she was quite skilled at it. "Follow me and we'll be there by sunset."

"Fine," the boy agreed. "But first..." He turned back to some of the other beasts who were filing behind him and pointed at three of them. "You three. Return to the clan and tell them what's going on. Tell them we have the fairy princess and that she's taking us to her gems."

The three beasts nodded and then swiftly disappeared into the bushes.

Weiss scoffed softly to herself – they didn't _have_ her. She'd decided on her _own_ to stay with them.

But she said nothing by means of correcting them, for she was no fool, and she fully understood the position she was in.

Once the beasts were ready, the boy with the bull horns stepped forward toward Weiss.

"Let's be clear," he growled. "If you're lying, I really won't be opposed to tearing your wings clean off your back. And no flying when you lead us there. You walk. Also," he reached for the arrows on her back. "I'll hold onto those."

"Excuse you!" Weiss snapped, smacking his grimy hand away. "First of all, _you_ need to understand that I am _not_ your prisoner! I'm doing you all a favor with this. And second of all, touching a fairy princess without her consent is grounds for a lifetime of bad luck! Every morning a flock of birds will scatter droppings in your hair, and every night a tree branch will aim to fall on you in your sleep. Care to risk it?"

Her descriptions were enough to make the boy recoil and grimace.

"Fine. But if you pull your weapon, we'll pull ours."

"Fine," she huffed, reaching down to pick up her previously-discarded bow and sling it back over her shoulder. "Now if you're _quite_ finished gabbing, shall we be off?"

The boy looked at her past his mask, then nodded.

Weiss turned on her heel and began marching off through the woods, keeping to her word to not use her wings or so much as touch her bow and arrows.

She began to lead the troupe of a dozen or so beasts through the forest, walking as though she'd been this way a million times before and knew exactly where she was going.

Her plan didn't extend very far beyond this – she was simply playing things by ear now.

But she knew she didn't have much time left anymore, not with the envoys the boy had sent back to their clan. Surely, more beasts would be arriving soon to see Weiss' alleged stash of gems.

A stash that didn't exist.

She began to dread the thought of her lies turning this fiasco into a full-fledged war between the two species.

She needed to get away from these beasts, but do so in a way that wouldn't raise their suspicions.

When she thought about it, she had no idea how that might happen.

She continued to walk, leading them through the undergrowth and even several thickets, using her own magics to heal the little cuts she sustained from them. She hoped the briars and thorns would cause the beasts to grumble and give up the hunt, but they persisted through the minor nuisances.

Midday passed, and then the sunlight began to dwindle.

Weiss could sense the beasts getting more and more angry with her that the trek was taking so long.

She could now hear the sounds of rushing water ahead, and Weiss recalled she hadn't had so much as a sip to drink yet today.

But the beasts were fed up with her by now, and were clearly suspecting her antics. The boy with the bull horns stomped up to Weiss and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn around.

"Enough!" he bellowed. "Where are these gems you speak of, fairy?"

"Hey!" Weiss shrieked, jerking away from him. "I never gave you permission to touch me!"

"I don't care!" he snapped. "Bring us to the gems _now_! Stop playing games! Or is it that you've been lying through your little white teeth all this time?" He lowered his voice threateningly. "There are no gems, are there?"

He advanced another step, and the other beasts followed suit, all reaching for their weapons.

They'd finally found her out.

With serpent-like speed, Weiss whipped herself around and tore off through the forest as fast as her feet could carry her. Enraged shouts echoed out behind her.

"Get her! Cut off her wings!"

Weiss ran faster still, unable to use her wings here with so much foliage to slow her down and potentially tear the membrane.

She burst through the bushes and snares of tendrils, heart pounding as quickly and as loudly as her feet atop the soil were.

There were so many noises around her now: the rush of blood in her ears, the beat of her heart in her chest, the thudding of her feet, the shouts of her pursuers, the crackling of the leaves as she tore through them, the rush of the water off to one side...

She weaved through another thicket, her smaller stature giving her the advantage, whereas she could hear the bigger beasts getting temporarily tangled behind her. Weiss didn't look back, nor did she stop running, despite her fatigue and dehydration.

She just ran, ran, ran until-

"Ah-!"

She came to a screeching halt, her heels skidding in the dirt.

The forest had ended abruptly, revealing a rushing river. The land fell away in a massive, steep cliff, the water disappearing over the edge, pouring down into a tremendous, deafening waterfall.

Panting, Weiss stared down over the edge. The cliff face was barely visible past the hazy mist produced from the waterfall below. In fact, nothing was visible past that white mist, only the tops of a few trees far below.

It was certainly a long drop.

Weiss gathered her bearings and prepared to spread her wings.

But before she could manage it, the beasts caught up to her. Hollering and shouting threats and curses, they charged her.

Startled, Weiss' heel caught on a root, and her weight shifted dangerously.

The boy with the bull horns was upon her, just inches away, reaching out. He grabbed her ponytail tightly, but Weiss' body was already falling.

And then she vanished over the side with naught but a breathless shriek left behind her.

The beasts skidded to a halt at the edge, spitting ruefully.

But the boy with the bull horns was smiling wryly.

In his hand, he held four strands of long silver hair.

But the Fairy Princess herself was doomed.

He knew that a fairy in the water couldn't fly and would surely drown within seconds.

The future Fairy Queen was dead.

But that didn't mean he needed to tell the truth about it.

Already forming his plan, he tucked the silver hairs into his shirt pocket and turned back to the others, giving the order to retreat.

And far, far below in the pool of the turbulent waterfall, there was a feeble voice crying out that soon faded beneath the rush of the water.

* * *

 **A/N: No, Blake was not among the beasts in Adam's group~**

 **Please support me on as Kiria Alice if you like my writing!**

 **Please review!**


	4. The Lost Princess

**Announcement! I've decided to change the name of this fic from Whispering Wings to The Beast And The Fairy, just because it is much broader and more relevant to this story as a whole!**

 **I'm doing my best with this fic, but multi-chapters have never been my strong suit. So I know some parts of the plot will seem awkward or maybe even irrelevant at some points, but everything will have its place in the end!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 4. The Lost Princess

Weiss made certain to keep up the act for as long as it would've been believable.

In truth, she hadn't been so startled she'd fallen right over the edge of the cliff. But rather, she'd cunningly positioned herself at just the perfect spot to make it appear that way.

Instead of being met with an untimely doom, she'd utilized the cliff face to make a swift getaway from her unfavorable situation. A convenient step and a bit of a twist had made it appear as though she'd fallen right off, and she was certain to let out a soft wail as she let herself plummet.

But as soon as she knew she was out of sight due to the heavy veil of white mist produced by the waterfall, Weiss put her magics to use as she spread her wings and began to drift down rather than free-fall.

The rush of the wet air whipping against her face instantly softened into a gentle drizzle, and it was actually welcome after the harrowing journey she'd just taken herself on halfway through the forest. There was still a sharp pain in the back of her head from where the boy with the bull horns had yanked her hair, and the cool mist helped to ease the soreness.

As she continued to glide downward, the rush of the waterfall filled her ears with a consistent roaring as the mist sprayed her body from head to toe.

She gazed up at the sun to determine the time of day, and it was far past noontime, probably much closer to sunset by now. The sky was turning pink, and the clouds were beginning to be lined with golden rays, something that only happened when the sun's angle was starting to sink beyond the horizon.

Weiss knew the fairies must have returned to the treetops by now.

Without her.

She knew her poor father and sister must be in a panic. They'd probably send out search parties for her to fan the entire forest and wouldn't care if they were invading the beasts' territories or not. Word would spread quickly how the future Queen of the Fairies had gone missing and possibly fallen victim to a tragic accident.

Only now did Weiss realize her acting skills were so good that she'd saved her own life, but now the lives of every other fairy were in danger because of it. This ordeal could very well be what sparked the full-on war between the two species.

Weiss could feel her chest tightening with every passing second as she continued to descend beside the waterfall. She needed to get home and quickly.

She spread her wings a little more to the sides in an effort to catch an air current she could ride back up on.

But now was one of those times when weighing only half of what she appeared to weigh worked against her. The lightness of her body prevented her from being able to use enough force to best the strong winds spiraling around the waterfall. The moisture in the air had already dampened her wings almost all the way through, and she didn't have enough muscle in them to flap hard enough to keep herself elevated.

Desperately, Weiss tried to flap them, but she only continued to helplessly descend alongside the rushing water, faster now than she had been previously. The winds battered her and dragged her haphazardly from side to side. As the water weighed on her wings more and more, she knew there was nowhere she could go now but down.

At the last second, Weiss cast a small barrier of magic around herself just as her wings became to water-laden to be of use.

Then, with a short shriek, she fell the remaining dozen or so feet down beside the waterfall and landed in the pool below with a soft splash.

For a moment, Weiss was trapped underwater by the force of the current above her. The water pounded harshly against her magic barrier, which persevered her and kept her dry like a bubble, allowing her to breathe while inside of it.

Weiss tried to control her fright and focus on her magic, keeping the bubble in-tact as she continued to float along beneath the surface.

A fairy's ability to control her magic was linked not only to the magics already residing in her surroundings. But more significantly, it was linked directly to her emotions, and Weiss knew that if she succumbed to her terror at the present situation, it would be the death of her.

So she took a deep breath and concentrated, reminding herself she was the Princess of the Fairies and that she had a duty to return home to her people safely.

Slowly, the bubble began to carry her back up to the surface.

However, although her nerves were more or less under control, her body was severely drained now. Due to the stress of the beasts' ambush of her group, the anxieties of telling them a blatant lie about taking them to a stash of hidden gems, the panic of tearing free from them, jumping off such a high cliff, and now the terrifying experience of being completely underwater...

Weiss was too exhausted to keep the barrier up any longer. It was starting to cause physical pain to throb throughout her body, and a depletion of magic was highly dangerous to a fairy.

So she had no choice but to choose between letting her magics run dry, or risk a very wet battle with death.

She relinquished her barrier.

Instantly, loud, cold water came rushing at her, filling her nose and lungs and drenching her clothes. She coughed as she struggled to break the surface, but the weight of her soaked dress and wings were greater than the weight of her body, and they dragged her back down.

Weiss tumbled head over heels beneath the water, coughing only to find more water filling her lungs. She yelped when she felt herself hit a particularly solid object. She could only hope it was a rock and not something with teeth.

Frantically, she threw her arms out to clutch at it, quickly discovering it was indeed stationary against the ever-present flow of the water. With great strength, Weiss pulled herself closer to the rock and clung to it, then burst her head up through the surface.

With a loud gasp, she inhaled as much air as she could before another wave crashed over her head. She lost her grip on the rock and was sent tumbling through the water once more.

But it was only a second later when she collided with another rock and grabbed onto that on as well, pulling herself up once more to breathe.

This time, Weiss was able to survey the water around her and discover she was at the center of the fast-running river. There were many rocks protruding from the surface, and Weiss could either use them to her advantage, or let herself smash against them until every bone in her body was broken.

She preferred to try the former.

So when she next released the rock, she aimed herself at the next-closest one, letting the water carry her there. Once she'd grabbed the next rock, she gulped in air before repeating it several more times.

It was an agonizing process, both for her mind, body, and magic, but she managed to stick to it.

With one last mighty jump, Weiss reached out until her nails dug into the soft mud of the opposite bank. The water was still rushing around her stomach and back, tugging at her legs and wings. But her arms and shoulders were free of it now, and Weiss took a moment to catch her breath.

Panting and coughing, she dragged herself up out of the water before breathlessly collapsing into the grass. She sputtered in a way most unbecoming of a fairy princess, spitting up enough river water to likely make herself ill at the sight of the stuff for days to come.

Once there were no fluids left in her lungs, she flopped down onto her stomach and lie gasping. Luckily for her, she'd managed to land in a patch of the fading sunlight, so she could feel the warm rays hitting her back and gracing her poor wings.

After all the awful things she'd been through today, this was certainly nice to feel.

But she reminded herself how far from home she must have been, how frightening the entire situation was, both for herself and for her family.

She needed to get home.

With a whimper, she pushed herself up, gasping at a pain in her back that traveled up her aching wings. Weiss didn't dare to stretch her wings out, not when they were so fragile and wet that they risked tearing at a strong gust of wind. She might've been able to call upon some magic to help dry them off, but she didn't want to deplete her energy.

Slowly, she put a hand to her chest, sighing in relief when her fingertips brushed against the familiar flowers of her necklace. Next, her fingers went to her hair which she discovered was still secured in its ponytail thanks to the flower hair band her mother had made for her.

Weiss might not had carried gems on her person as other fairies often did, but those two trinkets were far greater treasures than any stones could ever be.

Relieved to find them unharmed likely thanks to her magic barrier, Weiss got to her feet despite the excessive shaking of her legs. She could clearly assess that her wings were far too wet to be of any use to her for at least several more hours, and that would've been if she could manage to stay in sunlight for that long.

But with dusk upon her, she knew it would take the length of the night for them to dry off. She'd have to brave a night alone in these woods, and she didn't want to do so unarmed.

She'd lost her bow and arrows in the tumble down the waterfall, but she hoped they might wash up on shore wherever the river pooled. That would also be the best place for her to go around the water to get back to the side she'd came from, as she didn't fancy the idea of swimming back through, and she certainly couldn't fly.

So after another few moments of gathering her bearings, Weiss wrung out her hair and dress to shed a bit of water weight, and then started off.

She kept as silent as possible as she followed alongside the rushing river, for the last thing she needed was _more_ unwanted attention coming her way. If she took the night to restore her magic and strength, she would probably have enough energy to be able to start the journey home tomorrow.

But even _she_ had no idea where she was in the vast forest now. Weiss had only guesses and instinct to go off of, nothing more.

But it would have to suffice, because she _needed_ to get home. It wasn't an option.

So she trekked barefoot through the mist-sprayed grass along the muddy river bank, keeping a good few feet of distance between herself and the water just in case the ground sunk away beneath her and took her back into the river.

She walked with a miserable pace and posture, hugging herself to preserve whatever feeble body heat remained. Despite the meek sunlight reaching down, Weiss was still dripping and shivering, and she knew it would be nothing short of a miracle if she didn't catch a cold by tomorrow.

She kept her senses alert as she continued along the river, never knowing when some kind of beast – animal or not – might jump out at her.

But it seemed the fates had been cruel enough to Weiss that day, for no animals or beasts intercepted her.

She walked until sunset – the time she was supposed to have returned home by – and that was when she reached the end of the river. It pooled out into a great lake that reflected the twilight sky, shimmering pink and orange. The waves of the rapids dwindled into flat water here, and it lapped quietly up against the banks where gigantic trees stood and overlooked their reflections quietly.

Weiss had never seen this massive lake before, but only heard of through the tales of travelers.

If that was any indication as to how far from home she was, Weiss dreaded to think of it.

Surprisingly, it only took her a moment's worth of scouring the water's surface to locate the expertly-carved shape of her bow. Thanks to the magic she'd cast upon it during its creation, it hadn't snapped or splintered amongst the rocks, and as Weiss fished it out, it seemed to be in pristine condition. She managed to find four of her six arrows, but didn't spare the time to seek out the other two.

Night was upon her now, and the sky was turning dark. Weiss knew there was hardly anything more dangerous than being alone in unfamiliar territory at night.

At the very least she was armed and able to flee if need be, but she would rather store her energy up in a safe sleeping spot rather than expend it trying to run for her life again.

The birdsong of the forest was exchanged for the chirping of crickets and the buzzing of night insects. She was glad to discover there were bats in these parts of the forest who happily emerged from their roosts to eat the bugs that otherwise would have been attracted to the enticing scent of fairy blood.

But as far as Weiss could tell, this wasn't fairy territory, not from her kingdom, or any other neighboring one. The bats seemed shocked and pleasantly surprised to see her, knowing fairies meant protection from bigger threats.

Weiss thanked them for gobbling up as many bugs as their bellies could hold, and implored them for a safe place she may spend the night. They chittered and waved their wings, guiding her to a tall tree.

But Weiss' wings were still too wet to use. Instead, she slung her bow over her shoulder to dangle on her back and put two of her arrows into her dress' sash. She held onto the other two arrows, one in each hand.

Rather than elegantly fluttering safely up to her resting spot, she resorted to beast-like methods of stabbing the arrowheads into the tree trunk one after the other and climbing up in that manner.

It took her ten times longer than it would've to have flown there, but eventually, she managed to haul herself up into the fork of three massive sections of the tree. It created a space big enough for her to curl herself up in, but first, she hung her bow and arrows on a nearby branch so she wouldn't be prodded in the night.

She was a little reassured to know the bats would indicate any potential danger to her in the night, but that was the only small solace she received here. There was no soft moss or feather bed beneath her, no gentle quilt to shield her shivering back, no silent reassurance of her fellow fairies' presences to secure her.

The only slight comfort was when she looked up past the dark leaves of the trees to the carpet of the velvet sky, sprinkled with stars.

She knew her mother was there watching over her.

The thought comforted Weiss enough to allow her to drift off into an uneasy slumber, not knowing what awaited her with the dawn.

* * *

. . .

It took Adam and his troop until nightfall to return back to the rest of the clan, thanks to the trickery of the Fairy Princess who had led them miles and miles out of their way on false pretenses.

He'd growled and spat all the way back, blundering through the forest and snapping every piece of it that got in his way.

But he wasn't in as foul of a mood as he could have been in.

The trek home had allowed him to devise a plan, and he was nothing short of pleased to reveal it when one of his fellow troop members addressed him.

"Adam," he grunted. "What will we tell the rest of the clan about the Fairy Princess? She... she's dead, isn't she? The fairies will declare war on us for sure."

Adam halted in his tracks and turned back to the rest of them, who were clearly waiting for his response. He chuckled.

"She may be dead," he agreed. "But the rest of them don't have to know that."

The others gave him puzzled looks, and he elaborated. Adam reach into the pocket of his shirt and revealed the four strands of silken white hair he'd snatched from the princess before she'd fallen to her death.

"At dawn, we'll send out a messenger to the fairies. He'll show them these hairs as proof that we have her as prisoner. We'll tell the Fairy King he's got as many days as we've got hairs of his daughter to collect every enchanted gem in the forest to hand over to us. If he fails to comply, he knows what we'll do to his daughter," he laughed.

"By the time he hands over all the gems, it'll be too late when he realizes we never had her in the first place. But by then, all of those fairies' enchanted gems will be ours. And they'll hold enough magics in them for _us_ to be able to conquer them all."

With that, Adam vanished into the shadows, four long, thin slivers of white winking in the moonlight beside him.

* * *

 **A/N: Just to clarify, Adam's troop is not the entire clan of the beasts. It'll be important to remember that later on, but it's just a small group he leads.**

 **Still no signs of Blake. Where could she be in all this...?**

 **If you like my work, please support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	5. A Beastly Encounter

**Finally, the wait is over!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 5. A Beastly Encounter

The night was an understandably uneasy one for Weiss.

She woke frequently due to one reason or another. Sometimes, it was the rustling of the bushes beneath her or the trees around her. Other times, it was due to nightmares or just her own nerves.

She only slept when she was too exhausted to stay conscious and quite literally passed out.

But she woke with the first rays of sunlight in the morning, feeling golden light dancing on her skin. Cracking her eyes open, she found herself balled in between the crevices of the tree the bats had led her to last night.

But now, only birds were in her sight, flitting about to and fro as they went about their busy morning routines of catching insects and collecting twigs.

Weiss was still for a moment, assessing the forest around her. The fact that the birds were out and about indicated to her that there was no immediate danger nearby, so she dared to make her first move.

Weiss stretched her arms out in front of herself, feeling her back and shoulders crack a few times here and there.

Next, she straightened her legs, still drained from yesterday's ordeal and her significant lack of sleep in the night.

At last, Weiss slowly unfurled her wings, taking great care in stretching them out. To her great relief, they were no longer damp and had been dried by the night air as she'd hoped.

Still, just to be safe, she turned them toward the strongest rays of sunlight, allowing the warmth to seep through her hair and back. She absorbed a bit of energy from it, and before long was ready to set out.

If only she knew where to go.

As she gathered her bow and arrows and put them into place in her sash and over her shoulder respectively, she felt the hollowness in her stomach. She knew her first order of business was to find some breakfast, for she would be too weak to travel if she failed to do so.

Therefore, once Weiss was confident she could take flight, she stood on one of the mighty branches and spread her wings.

Then, with a familiar step, she kicked off and jumped down onto the nearest current of wind.

But for some reason, it was a struggle for her to take off. She'd never had a problem before, but right now, she wobbled sloppily in midair, flitting about precariously.

"Wh-What is going on?" she gasped, very nearly colliding with the tree.

Her wings shuddered strangely, in a way she'd never felt before.

Then, she dipped toward the ground.

Only her quick reflexes spared her a broken nose. Weiss immediately called forth the magics she'd kept stored in her necklace and clothes, and spread it to her wings to make them steady. Her posture was fixed, and she smoothly lifted back into the air.

With a sigh of relief, Weiss realized what was amiss. Here in these woods, no fairies dwelled, and so no magics filled the air - or if they did, they were very faint, not nearly enough to support her.

Right now, the only magics she had were the ones in her own body and trinkets. She knew there wasn't much left, and she didn't want to risk using it all up in flight before she could get home.

She'd need to return quickly.

Weiss flitted out through the trees, bound for the way she'd come.

She soared more silently than any bat or bird. The magics that weaved within her wings weren't like feathers or flappy membrane, so they made no sound as she moved. The only indication that a fairy was flying overhead was a very small, faint, and almost unnoticeable trail of fairy dust produced by the magics necessary to fly.

Such dust was often carried off on the breeze and dissipated before it could ever hope to sprinkle the ground below - what did make it down blessed the grass and made it fertile. The rest provided an almost ethereal glowing trail following up to a few feet behind each fairy.

Weiss hoped the silver dust shed by her wings might somehow attract other fairies to her position so a rescue team might find her and lead her home.

But until that happened, she'd do her best to make it home on her own.

Presently, she followed the birds amongst the treetops, searching for bushels of berries hidden beneath the leaves. She found a few blueberries as well as a few red ones and plucked them off to collect them in her palm.

Once she'd gathered a handful, Weiss saved her energy and sat down on a branch, folding her wings at her back to give them a rest. She popped the berries into her mouth in turn, letting the familiar flavors calm her a bit. The berries tasted similar to the ones back home, so it reassured Weiss that at least she wasn't in a part of the forest so distant the food tasted differently.

But that also meant the ground was still likely the territory of the beasts, so she dared not go down.

Despite having swallowed a large amount of water yesterday, Weiss found herself parched.

Casting her gaze downward, she spotted the inviting, glimmering water of the river not far away. She swallowed, scouring the area below for any signs of prowling beasts, but detected none.

Quietly, Weiss took flight once more, keeping to the tree branches and foliage as best she could to cover herself from view.

Gradually, she lowered herself to the ground, until her bare toes touched the dewy grass.

Cautiously, she scurried forward toward the water's edge, checking over her shoulder one last time before she knelt down. Cupping her hands, she dipped them into the cold water before bringing it up to her lips to drink.

Weiss assumed the beasts would only be waiting in ambush in spots they knew fairies would stop to drink at. But since there were clearly no fairies living in these parts of the woods, she thought she might be safe from harm – at least for the moment.

Evidently, she'd thought wrong for the second day in a row.

Upon her second drink of water, Weiss suddenly felt a chill shoot up her spine, and her shoulders went tense. It was the unmistakable feeling of a rabbit being watched by a fox.

Only, Weiss felt she had a bit of a better chance than a rabbit might have had.

Slowly, with controlled motions, she reached for her bow with one hand and an arrow with the other. But she didn't want to start a fight unless it was inevitable.

She looked straight ahead, not wanting to show she'd noticed her stalker and give them reason to attack.

Calmly, Weiss stared down at the water, watching the reflections of the forest around her. The birds stopped chirping, and she watched as a few of them flew away from one tree in particular.

Weiss took note of which tree it was, knowing that would be where she'd find her opponent.

She listened for a moment longer, until she heard the padding of cautious feet atop grass.

Whatever was watching her was drawing nearer now, and Weiss wasn't about to be ambushed – not again.

With one swift motion faster than the blink of an eye, Weiss whipped around, drew her bow, positioned an arrow on the string, and fluttered several feet up into the air, taking aim at the bushes below.

"Show yourself!" she demanded, elbow pulled back behind the taught string of her bow.

There was a hiss of sorts from the bushes as a beast revealed itself.

Weiss quickly took note of its appearance.

Clearly, it was female. She had long, scraggly black hair like the night itself, and adorned a brown shirt woven of forest fabrics that covered the chest area, but revealed the stomach. Pants of a similar color covered her waist but revealed her thighs and everything below them.

A long, snake-like black tail stood erect at the beast's back, and the catlike ears were perked tall in surprise atop her head. At the ends of her bare fingers and toes were long, claw-like nails, probably double the length of Weiss' own.

But unlike the previous group Weiss had encountered, this girl adorned no mask to cover her face. Her nose was a small black dot against the tanned skin. That tan was a darker contrast that spoke of years of absorbing shadow - as opposed to Weiss' purer, whiter skin that captured the brightness of the sun.

The beast looked up at Weiss with wide golden eyes, more fearful than antagonistic.

But that didn't mean Weiss was about to let her off easy.

"Halt!" she hollered, arrow aimed at the beast's toes in warning. "You are trespassing on fairy grounds, beast! Leave now, or I will be forced to take violent action!"

Truth be told, Weiss wasn't entirely certain if these _were_ still fairy grounds or not, but she hoped her tone and choice of words would be enough to startle this beast away.

Clearly, she was mistaken again.

She watched as the beast remained frozen in place for a moment, her golden eyes locked on Weiss'. The beast hunched her back slightly, as though she were prepared to either lunge or turn and dart away – but which one it was, Weiss couldn't tell-

-until the beast rushed forward toward the river in a blur.

Startled by the sudden movement, Weiss took aim once more and fired her arrow. It shot directly at the beast's path and embedded itself in the grass just inches away from the girl's toes. The beast scrambled to a halt just a few feet away from the river, hissing in frustration as she glared up at Weiss.

The Fairy Princess drew another arrow and hovered in place.

"Cease your meddling, beast! I know you can understand me. Or are you _that_ uneducated?"

She waited for a response of some sort.

Now that the beast had run out of the bushes, Weiss could see she was unarmed. It made her feel guilty for firing at a weaponless opponent, but Weiss reminded herself she'd need to be a bit harsh if she herself wanted to avoid an even more troublesome situation.

The beast girl wrinkled her nose, as though smelling the air, then shook her head before meeting the fairy's gaze once more.

"I understand," she grunted. "I just want to-"

"Then if you understand-" Weiss snapped. "Obey my warning! The direction you're trying to advance in is fairy territory, so I suggest you turn tail and head the other way," she warned. "There are already enough of your kind invading my lands. We don't need any more of you there."

Judging by the fact that she hadn't seen more beasts since the ambush yesterday, this one was probably alone. Weiss almost considered trying to take her hostage and force the girl to bring her back to the correct part of the forest.

 _In exchange for her bringing me back, I could set her free to return to her clan._ Weiss was seriously considering this for a moment, until she quickly shook her head. _Heavens no! What am I thinking? Fairies never take captives! That's barbaric! I'm starting to think just like those awful beasts!_

Distressed at her own thoughts, Weiss took her eyes off the beast for a split second.

Not one to pass up such an opportunity, the beast took action against her armed adversary. Bending down, she scooped up a handful of dirt and dust, then grunted as she thrust it up into the fairy's face.

Weiss shrieked as she was temporarily blinded, forced to lower her weapon as she ducked her face into her shoulder in an effort to wipe her eyes.

"Wh-Why you-!"

But the beast didn't stick around to listen to insults. Knowing she wouldn't have enough time to swim across the river, she had no choice but to hurry back into the forest the way she'd come.

Weiss listened to the sounds of movement and could infer where the girl had gone.

"Why that... vicious beast!" she spat. "Do you _know_ who I am? You won't get away with soiling my dress and putting dirt in my hair!"

Folding the bow beneath her arm, Weiss took off through the forest after the beast. She wasn't familiar with these parts, but she was skilled enough to be able to maneuver through the foreign branches and tree trunks with minimal effort. Enraged as she was for being made a fool out of, Weiss moved with deadly precision as she tracked down the guilty party.

The beast was incredibly fast on-foot, probably as fast as the angry fairy tracking her down in the air. But Weiss wasn't about to lose sight of her, not when she knew that would mean losing the girl once and for all.

She kept her eyes trained on the black hair and tail, weaving through the trees and keeping low in order to stick close. She let her opponent know Weiss wasn't deterred by her speed by shouting after her.

"You'll regret that, you cur! I'll teach you to throw dust at the Princess of Fairies!"

The beast was clearly intrigued by what she'd said in proclaiming her title, for Weiss watched her come screeching to a halt.

Weiss, too, angled her wings to avoid a large branch and twisted her body flexibly over it before pausing to hover in midair. Huffing, she glared down at the beast who had likewise stopped to look up at her.

"Princess?" the beast queried, not even breathless. "What's the Princess of Fairies doing all the way out here so far from home?"

"As if that's any of _your_ business!" Weiss snapped. "I'll have you apologize for hurling that dust in my face now, if you please!" Weiss held off on drawing her bow and arrow and hovered expectantly, waiting for the profuse apologies.

But the beast girl merely stared up at her in confusion, still baffled by what she'd just been told.

"You... you're the-"

But she didn't finish.

Instantly, the beast girl dropped down into a crouch on the forest floor, letting out a low growl.

Weiss narrowed her eyes and flew back a pace.

"What is it?" she demanded. "I can't make sense of you if all you do is growl like that. Speak up, beast!"

But the beast girl continued to growl, staring up at Weiss. The fairy was put-off rather quickly at that.

"Wh-What's this now? Plan to attack me and take me hostage back to your clan? Well, I've got some news for you. An entire troop has already tried and failed in that department, so you'd best forget the idea here and now."

Even so, the girl below her looked suddenly fierce and even a bit angry, a dire contrast to the baffled, even flustered girl Weiss had just chased down. She took another fluttering pace back and went a bit higher, wondering whether or not she should take aim with her bow once again.

The girl on the ground lashed her tail and slowly shook her head at Weiss.

"No..." she mumbled. "Don't move..."

"What's that?" Weiss snapped. "I swear it on my honor that if you try anything funny I'll-"

" _Get down!_ "

"Wh-Wha-?!"

Without so much as a second's worth of warning, Weiss was taken aback as the beast girl sprung up from the forest floor. Even though Weiss was a good ten feet above and away from her, it didn't deter the agile catlike girl from reaching her with ease.

Weiss let out an appalled shriek as she felt the beast grab one of her legs, clinging to her like a lizard to a tree. A very big, very heavy lizard. With long claws.

"G-Get _off_ of me, you filthy beast!" Weiss screamed. "Vile, flea-bitten cur! Release me _at once!_ "

In her shock and desperation, Weiss dropped her bow and arrow and pounded her fists in the air, wriggling from side to side midair in an effort to shake the other girl off of her.

She could care less about the shouts and grunts of the beast on her ankle, and Weiss' own voice was drowning out the other girl's.

She could faintly make out the sounds of something moving above her, something that sounded almost like the flurry of wings, but she couldn't be certain.

Weiss had her eyes closed now as she continued to shout and thrash, bumping herself into various branches and leaves in an effort to knock off her unwelcome passenger.

The frightened beast didn't like dangling so high up without something sturdy supporting her legs, and she clung harder to the fairy's leg.

"H-Hold on!" she cried out. "I-I was just-"

"Silence! I won't hear it from you, you brazen creature! Now _get off!_ You're a cat, you'll land on your feet! Unhand me!"

"Easier said than done..."

The world was spinning below her, and her ears were starting to ache.

Weiss was no better off, and she could feel her wings tiring now as she was gradually dragged down by the greater weight of the beast.

"You..." she huffed. "Release me... or else!"

"I'd rather not."

Their midair bickering continued for several minutes as they continued to thrash about, disrupting the forest and scaring off every bird and squirrel around.

Weiss couldn't take it anymore. Her poor wings were throbbing with ache at the extra burden, and she was too flustered to think straight.

In the end, it was a graceless fall.

The beast maintained a vice-like grip on Weiss' leg as they both plummeted – an unsettling sensation Weiss felt she'd experienced two times too many within just as many days.

There were shrieks and whimpers from the both of them as they collided with tree branches and brambles, bumping to and fro as they descended in a tumble of hair, limbs, and wings.

And it all ended with a wet, brown landing, leaving the two girls knotted together in a puddle of mud.

Weiss groaned and wriggled weakly as she caught her breath, feeling the unmistakable pressure of another body crushing hers, and a _heavy_ one at that. She gasped, spitting mud away from her lips before she filled her lungs with air and let out a mighty shout.

" _Get off!_ "

The birds and animals all dispersed, leaving the odd pair alone and tangled in a muddy pile on the ground.

Breathless and groaning, they each lie there in the mud for a moment.

And that was the last time the forest would ever be silent again.

* * *

 **A/N: Welp, there she is! What an entrance! Find out what she was up to later on~**

 **If you like my work, please support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	6. The Odd Group Forms

**This chapter has some scenes based off Dash's artwork, one of which can be found at the link: dashingicecream,tumblr,com/post/117568297367. If you look on her Fairy!Beast AU tag, you'll see all kinds of fanart that I've incorporated into this fic!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 6. The Odd Group Forms

" _UGH!_ "

Weiss all but shouted in disgust as she felt the cold mud seeping into her perfect white skin and delicate clothes.

But the worst of all was her wings.

Presently, they were crushed beneath her back, absorbing more and more of the vile brown goo by the second.

But the fairy could do little to free herself with a half-conscious _beast_ splayed on top of her chest. She tried to wriggle free but to no avail; her petite form and lightened weight couldn't compete with the cat-eared girl.

So Weiss inhaled another gasp of air and gave a mighty shove with her free hand.

"Get _off_ of me!"

With a whimper of surprise, the beast girl found herself rolling to one side. The previous and softer landing on the Fairy Princess' stomach was promptly replaced by a face-full of mud.

Weiss heard the other girl hiss, and she actually smirked a bit.

"There. Now we're even," she muttered.

For a moment, they both grumbled and moaned as the pain from their graceless fall began to ebb away, replaced now by the shivers that were sent shooting through them thanks to the mud. They pushed themselves up into kneeling positions and shook themselves off. Droplets of mud the beast girl dislodged ended up hitting Weiss in the face, and the Fairy Princess snorted in disgust.

"Hey! Watch it, you beast!"

The other girl's ears flattened and she quickly scrambled away.

"Sorry."

"Ugh!" Weiss shouted again. She needed to reach behind her back and physically peel her poor wings off of her dress. They were coated in mud - dripping with it - and the wetness alone told her she wouldn't be able to use them again until at least tomorrow. Weiss moaned at the thought of delaying her journey further, lamenting her mud-soaked back. "My wings! They're filthy! I can't fly like this!"

Again, the beast girl's ears drooped.

"Ah, I'm s-so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"You had _better_ be sorry!" Weiss snapped, shoving her index finger into the girl's wet, black nose. "Wait until my father hears about this! Then you'll _really_ be sorry, you beast!"

The other girl - who had been mostly nervous and flinching up until this point - now reacted quite differently. She growled a bit, her ears flattening and eyes narrowing.

"Stop calling me that."

"It's what you are, isn't it?"

"I have a name. It's Blake."

"I don't recall asking to hear it," Weiss huffed. "I couldn't care _less_ about the name of some savage who _jumped_ on me like that out of nowhere!"

"For your information, _princess_ ," Blake spat. "There was a hawk coming at us. Those things'll attack anything with wings, and you've got those, don't you?"

Weiss was admittedly at a loss for words at her statement. She'd been about to make a comeback, but pursed her lips instead, muttering something else beneath her breath.

"A hawk?" she sniffed. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that?"

"Yes, because it's the truth!" Blake shouted. "I didn't want to have to jump on you any more than you would've liked me to."

"Did you ever consider just _warning_ me rather than _leaping_ at me like some jungle cat?"

"I was _trying_ to, but you wouldn't listen! Plus, you had an arrow pointed at me," Blake defended.

Weiss groaned again and shook herself off, deliberately flinging mud onto the beast girl.

"Filthy barbarians, all of you!" she snapped, getting to her feet. Her bow and arrows had splintered and broken in the fall and were now totally useless. She left them behind as she stomped through the mud, heading for dry grass. "Once I get home, I'll-" She paused, looked around, then took another uncertain step forward.

"Once I... h-home is..." Weiss stopped again, blinked in confusion, and felt her wings droop. In a flash, she spun around, pointing an accusing finger at the beast girl and raising her voice. "Beast, to where have you kidnapped me?!"

Blake ignored the fairy's failure to use her real name and stood up from the sloppy mud.

" _Kidnapped?!_ " she hissed. "If you would have _listened_ to me for a second and not _attacked_ me, we wouldn't have ended up in the middle of nowhere! I was saving you from getting a back-full of talons, remember?"

"Which you _could_ have gone about in a _much_ more effective manner!"

"Why are you yelling at me?" Blake growled. "Like I said, you were pointing a _weapon_ at me! And I _still_ saved you from a lot of pain."

"And you _caused_ me even more of it!" Weiss shouted, her hands balled into tight fists. "My chest is aching and it'll be a _miracle_ if my wings aren't broken now!"

"They're not _broken_ ," Blake scoffed. "You fairies are always over-reacting about everything. Typical..."

"Excuse you!" Weiss snapped. "Who are _you_ to determine what kind of pain _I_ feel? And what is _that_ supposed to mean? How _dare_ you judge my entire species based off this single incident?"

"It's _not_ just this one incident," Blake shot back. "You fairies have been over-reacting about everything since day one."

"Oh, _really?_ How so? Do tell me," Weiss snapped.

"Like how you judged _my_ people right from the beginning!" Blake hissed back. Her ears were flat, but the fur on them was fluffed up in anger. "Ever since we set foot into this part of the forest, you've been at war with us - or at least on the brink of it!"

"For good reasons!" Weiss yelled back, stomping her mud-streaked foot. "You beasts are vicious! First of all, you _kill_ and _eat_ animals. It's just wrong! And just yesterday, I along with a group of my fellows were ambushed by your clan! They _attacked_ and _threatened_ us and demanded all of our precious gems! You're always stealing our stones from us just for their magics! But they're much more valuable than that, you know! We value them for sentimental reasons, not just for magic, but what do _you_ beasts care?!"

By the time she was finished with her outraged rant, Weiss was shouting until her lungs burned. Her eyes were squeezed shut and there were tears on her lashes. Slowly, she reopened her eyes as she panted for breath, her cheeks flushed red and shoulders heaving.

Blake stared at her wide-eyed, her expression a mixture of appalled and confused. She understood right away that Weiss was in pain, both physical and now emotional as well.

She instantly felt guilty for striking the wrong nerve for the wrong reasons. She'd let her upset feelings get the better of her, and had allowed them to cloud her judgement of both Weiss and the situation at hand. Their number one priority should be to find their way back home, but instead here they were, arguing.

Blake's shoulders slumped and her ears followed suit. With a sigh, she waited for Weiss to get her breath back, then spoke much more softly.

"Hey... I'm-"

A sudden rustling cut her off. It was coming from nearby, and when she whipped around, she could see a bush shifting with movement. Instantly, Blake went on high alert.

"Get down!" she hissed. She tapped Weiss' shoulder rather roughly in her haste, and the fairy fell to her knees.

"Wh-What-"

"Shh."

Blake crouched down in front of her, shielding Weiss from whatever lie ahead of them. The fairy wrinkled her nose and wiped her forearm over her eyes, leaving more trails of mud on her cheeks as she did so. She had half a mind to continue shouting at the beast girl, but decided she could save that for another time.

For now, she trained her eyes on the girl's long, scraggly black hair for a moment, noting Blake's posture, as though she were about to spring at whatever enemy was before them. She squared her shoulders and let out a low warning growl, trying to make herself seem more intimidating than Weiss assumed her to be.

The fairy took another glance over to where her bow and arrows lie scattered and broken in the mud. She cursed her luck - now she had no tangible weapons left, only her magics, and even those were running low since she'd used most of them to fly.

For the moment, Weiss simply remained silent, huddled behind Blake with her wings sagging behind her. She kept her eyes on the bushes ahead, and another ripple went through them.

Blake growled again.

"Who's there?" she called. "Show yourself!"

Blake waited, holding her posture. Weiss watched as one of the girl's catlike ears flicked, and the next second, Weiss heard voices.

"Aww, see?" a little voice yelped. "I _told_ you they'd hear us!"

"It's not _my_ fault I had to burp!" another voice replied.

Blake hissed again.

"Hey! Come out now!"

There was a moment where the bush seemed to talk back and forth to itself in those little voices.

Then, the leaves rustled again. Out stepped a peculiar pair of animals.

On the bottom was a young bear with round ears and tan fur. Atop her head sat a red squirrel whose fluffy tail was wrapped around herself, her tiny claws clutching it nervously.

Weiss and Blake both blinked in confusion at the odd pair. The bear and squirrel seemed to do the same for them.

The squirrel piped up first.

"See? I told you, Yang! It's a fairy and a beast together!"

"What the fuzz? And neither of 'em is dead!" The bear sounded impressed before mumbling an addition. "Yet..."

Blake flicked an ear and stood to her full height, where the bear only reached up to her waist.

"What?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

The bear – Yang, as the squirrel had called her – gave a shrug as she peered up at the black-haired girl.

"Not much. Just that I've never seen a fairy and a beast alone together where they weren't covered in blood or chasin' each other off."

"But they were sure doing a lot of yelling!" the squirrel added.

By this point, Weiss could tell these two were no threat, and she pushed herself back onto her feet to glare down at them.

"Enough of that," she said. "What exactly _are_ you two?"

"Us?" said the squirrel. "I'm Ruby!"

"And I'm Yang!" added the bear. "We're sisters!"

Weiss blinked and huffed skeptically. "Sisters. Right. Now then, I'd like to know why you two were spying on us."

Ruby's ears flattened and Yang grunted in dismay.

"Spying?"

"We weren't doin' that. We just couldn't help but _hear_ you, is all."

Weiss looked them both over and sighed.

"Fine. If you've got no business here, then I'll be heading out. I've had _quite_ enough strange encounters for one day, thank you very much. If you'll all excuse me, _I've_ got to get back home."

She turned away and started strutting off, shoulders back and chin held pridefully high, despite her muddy and wet appearance.

Blake huffed and called after her.

"You're lost," she reminded her. "You told me yourself before that you have no idea where you are. You shouldn't go back alone. It isn't safe."

Weiss froze for a moment, then rounded on her, eyes lit with outrage.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much," she snapped. "What would _you_ care for my safety, anyway? I'll have you know I've got no enchanted stones on my person, so you've no reason to follow me or be in my presence another second longer, beast.

"And _don't_ try to take me captive just because I'm the princess. I won't go easy on you just because you saved me from some hawk. I'll be going home to my people and you should be going to yours. We're finished here."

She hadn't missed the bear's and squirrel's excited whispers of "Princess? As in _the_ Fairy Princess?"

But Weiss didn't mind them. She merely twirled around again, shedding more mud in her wake as she headed off into the forest in whichever direction felt right.

Blake watched her go, and she knew she should have just let her.

 _She's right. Why_ should _I care about her? I should just go home..._

She turned her back on the white fairy and looked in the opposite direction. Closing her eyes, she opened her ears and her nose.

This part of the forest had an unfamiliar scent to it, and the wind sounded different as well. Even when she let instinct take over, Blake realized she hadn't the slightest idea of what to do. She was lost as well.

Reopening her eyes, she found herself looking into the silver gaze of the squirrel and the lavender of the bear. They hadn't left, and they didn't look like they planned to. When the squirrel spoke up, Blake understood why.

"We know this forest like the backs of our paws," she chittered.

"All of it," the bear added. "Not just the fairy and beast territories. We know how to get you guys home. Let us take you back."

Blake's ears shot up at their words. This option was even more well-suited to her intentions than what she'd planned on doing out here in the woods before she'd met Weiss.

"Really?" she said quickly. "You'll take us both back?"

"Yeah!" the squirrel said. "Of course!"

"We know what it's like to be lost from home," the bear added. "It's no fun. Plus it's dangerous in these parts. We'll get you back if you come with us."

For the first time all day, Blake felt herself smile.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," the bear rumbled happily.

"But uh..." The squirrel flicked her tail in the direction Weiss had headed off in. "You should go catch your friend- er... the F-Fairy Princess before she gets herself even more lost."

Blake nodded quickly.

"Right. Just wait her for us, please."

"Sure!"

"You got it!"

With their promise to lead her home fueling her feet, Blake took off after the fairy. She rushed through the bushes and trees, following the trail of mud the princess had left behind.

Weiss hadn't gotten far since she'd been reduced to traveling on foot, and Blake caught up quickly. Heart pounding, she let out her voice.

"Wait!"

Weiss heard her voice, but before she could think to turn on the beast girl with her eyes narrowed and stinging words on her tongue, she felt a tug on her wrist.

Blake skidded to a halt behind her, holding tightly to her hand. Weiss spun around and glared ice at her.

"What do you _want?_ " she demanded. "Leave me alone, you beast!" She shook her hand free of Blake's touch and recoiled as though she'd been burned.

Blake felt a pang shoot through her, but she wasn't bitter or all that upset by Weiss' reaction. She was more excited about the prospect of getting back home, and what it would mean for her own plans.

"Stay with me," she begged. "Those two will help us get home. I'm sorry about what happened before. I don't want to steal your gems or anything like that. I don't want to take you as a hostage or use you as leverage or anything, so don't even think I might."

Weiss had to admit such thoughts had been the only things on her mind.

"And how can I be certain?" she quipped. "You could easily put on a guise until we reached our kingdoms and then turn on me! You could lie to me with kindness and then tie me up and demand a ransom from my father! How do you expect me to want to go with you?"

Blake's ears flattened again, and her eyes were pleading.

"Please," she murmured. "I... I know it's hard to believe for you, but... I'll explain everything to you along the way. There are a lot of things I need to tell you... about my people." She was silent for a moment, then shook her head and went on. "I won't use you. I promise. I'm just asking for a little trust." She reached her hand out again, palm upturned and expectant.

Weiss was silent, her instincts on high alert and telling her to shove the girl away. But for whatever reason, her heart was rather calm.

She flicked her gaze all up and down the beast girl's muddy figure. Her ears and tail were drooping, her eyes were earnest, and Weiss couldn't detect any malice in her voice either. She truly seemed sincere.

Weiss... wanted to believe her.

"Trust..." she said slowly, cautiously. "A fairy trusting a beast? How absurd..."

Blake felt her heart sink to her stomach, and her outstretched hand fell down to her side. She didn't want to force the fairy.

Bowing her head, Blake turned away.

"Hey!" Weiss pouted. "I wasn't finished speaking yet!" She quickly reached her hand out and grabbed Blake's with it.

Shocked, the beast turned back to her, and their eyes met.

"So you'll..." She trailed off hopefully.

Weiss heaved another sigh.

"While it is _certainly_ unheard of for a fairy and a beast to team up together – _especially_ after the meeting we've had..."

Here, her eyes started to shimmer like sunlight reflected on the surface of the blue lake, and her lips curved up into the faintest of smiles. It was so small Blake wasn't sure if she'd truly seen it or not, but she could feel her heart, ears, and tail all lifting hopefully.

Weiss continued. "It's absurd... but, we fairies are taught to be open-minded, and... well, there's a first time for everything, right?"

Blake blinked at her slowly, almost disbelieving. She dipped her head, tightening her fingers around the fairy's.

"Yes. Thank you for trusting me..."

"Weiss," the princess filled in for her.

Blake smiled a little in return.

"Weiss," she repeated. "Please, come with me and allow me to explain myself. There's a lot I think you'd like to hear."

"There is indeed," the fairy agreed. "But first..." She let her gaze travel up and down both Blake and herself, still coated in mud. "Perhaps a bath."

Blake nodded in agreement, then began leading her back to Ruby and Yang.

She kept her hand on Weiss' all the while, and Weiss didn't let go either.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, there's a lot of explaining to do in so little time!**

 **If you like my work, please support me on as Kiria Alice!  
**

 **Please review!**


	7. Lessons In Understanding

**Guys please remember this is not _my_ AU! It belongs to dashingicecream. I am merely a humble and inspired fan to write :3 I just made my own interpretations on certain things, a lot of which are explored in this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 7. Lessons In Understanding

After coming to their first agreement since their encounter with one another, the fairy and the beast told their animal companions what they planned to do.

"First we'll get this mud off of us," Weiss declared. "I'll never be able to fly with it coating my wings like this. But wetting them in the river will probably mean they won't be dry until tomorrow. Normally, I'd use some of my magic to help speed up the process, but as things are now, I'd rather not use up any more of my magic than I have to."

Ruby and Yang nodded in comprehension.

"Sounds good," Yang grunted. "And then what's the plan?" She tilted her head and looked up at Blake this time. The beast girl flicked her tail from side to side before giving her response.

"After that, since she won't be able to fly... well, we'll just have to continue our journey on foot until nightfall. We can look for some supper, I guess."

"Oh, oh!" Ruby said, bouncing up and down from atop her adoptive sister's head. "I know all the best places to find the sweetest berries and stuff! I can help with that!"

"Good, then," Weiss nodded. "That will be our plan for tonight. But tomorrow, we'll simply have to speed things along as much as possible. The longer I'm away from my kingdom and unaccounted for, the more problems are going to arise."

Blake nodded solemnly, knowing the princess was right. She didn't know exactly what had happened to Weiss or why she was out here alone in the first place. She'd only caught bits and pieces in Weiss' yelling before about beasts ambushing her.

Blake knew she'd need to find out the whole story. The tricky part would be how to go about asking without getting her head bitten off.

The Fairy Princess was awfully loud, and her voice hurt Blake's sensitive ears, especially when she was yelling. She vowed to do her best to keep the white-haired girl pacified, at least until she'd found out more about the situation.

With their plans decided, the odd group mixed of four different species set out back toward the lake.

Yang lumbered along at the front of the group with Ruby on her shoulder.

Blake tried to insist that the fairy go next in line. Despite the differences of their species, Blake had no intentions of harming her, and she herself would rather bring up the rear and keep this arguably important girl in her sights. She voiced her intentions and spoke honestly.

"I'll keep a look out for danger. I don't want you getting injured."

But Weiss narrowed her eyes at the girl and refused.

"I don't trust my back to a beast. I'll walk behind."

She pointedly made a sharp turn and stomped to the rear of the group.

With a grunt of frustration, Blake shrugged and took the center spot instead. This fairy changed her mood like a chameleon changed its colors.

 _Fine. If you want don't want my help, don't take it._

She was conflicted rather perfectly. Part of her felt she shouldn't care less about this princess or what became of her. If Weiss ended up getting herself hurt or killed, Blake didn't think it should bother her or be a part of her responsibilities.

But the other part of her felt nervous and guilty. This _was_ the Princess of the Fairies, after all, and even though their clans had been on the verge of violent war for many seasons now, Blake just couldn't bear the thoughts of seeing something bad happen to her.

Plus, Weiss might've had a prickly personality, but Blake had seen the softer side for herself as well, if only briefly.

For now, she opted to keep her dilemma to herself and walk in front of the fairy. She could still feel a slight tingle on her hand where she'd taken the other girl's hand before, to stop her from going off alone.

At the time, the princess had held Blake's hand back. That was what led Blake to believe that they'd come to an agreement or truce of sorts, and that the fairy behind her wouldn't run off on her own now.

Blake could only hope that would be the case. They needed to stick together.

The two girls maintained a slow pace as they followed Yang and Ruby back to the river. Weiss kept herself on high alert all the while – even though the sun was still up at this point of the day, she didn't trust this unfamiliar territory one bit.

Blake did the same, keeping her ears perked and her steps light, trying not to make any unnecessary noise.

However, for all of the girls' careful caution, their two guides didn't seem to be bothered at all.

"Wowzers!" Yang was saying aloud. "I still can't believe we found a fairy and a beast _together!_ That's totally bonkers!"

"Maybe they're eloping!" Ruby said, clearly much louder than she'd intended to.

Blake and Weiss both heard the comment and were quick to correct her.

"Elope?" Blake scoffed.

"Hardly!" Weiss snapped. "As if I'd _ever_ be on friendly terms with a beast like this! Especially after a hoard of her friends just attacked me yesterday!"

Blake froze in her tracks and turned around slowly to face the girl, dismay and worry prominent in her golden gaze now.

"Right... I think you mentioned that before. Mind telling me more about it...?"

Weiss paused as well, glaring up at her.

"You heard me. Before you _jumped_ on me and we fell into the mud together, what did you think I was doing out in the middle of nowhere all on my own? Going for a stroll? Please. I'd been trying to gather water with my fellows at the river when a group of _your_ kind ambushed us!" she spat.

"They were all wearing these awful masks that hid their eyes, but their intentions were clear as water. They demanded all of our precious gems and threatened us, just like they always do. The only reason _any_ of my people got away unharmed was because I promised to take the beasts to a hidden stash of jewels. Of course, once they realized I was fibbing, they charged me, and that boy with the horns tore my hair and drove me over a cliff!"

Her voice rose up into a distressed wail at the memories of it all, and she shook herself off as if to dislodge the feeling of the boy's hand on her back.

"And then I nearly drowned and had to spend the night alone up in a tree like some possum! And what do I find the next day? _You_ jumping at me and dragging me down into the mud!" She turned her icy glare back to the little red squirrel, whose tail was fluffed up in alarm by now. "So for your information, we are _not_ eloping! We're not even friends! I want nothing to do with these beasts! I'm merely trying to get home and she just so happens to be going the same way!"

By the time her flustered discourse was over, all three of her listeners had been shocked into silence by her story. Yang looked up and Ruby and Ruby peered down at her, and they both came to a silent agreement never to touch upon this subject again.

But Blake's reaction was more appalled than anything. She had half a mind to retort and ask about what had happened to all of Weiss' kind words about there being "a first time for everything", and her previous promise to trust Blake.

But it was clear by how Weiss refused to walk in front of her that she couldn't trust a beast even if she tried.

Blake bit her lip and growled, but it wasn't Weiss' fickleness she was upset with now. She was hanging on the other things Weiss had said.

"Hold on..." she mumbled. "You said... a boy with horns attacked you?"

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"That _is_ what I said. He was up to no good from the very start. He was planning to take me hostage."

Blake's ears flattened against her head.

"Adam..." she mumbled.

Weiss instantly took a step back.

"You... You _know_ that scoundrel?"

"H-Hold on!" Blake frantically reached for the girl, but didn't make contact for fear she'd jerk away. She merely held out her hand, silently pleading with Weiss not to flee.

It was evident Weiss was considering just that, but she remained only to hear Blake's explanation of things. The beast girl put her palm to her face and sighed.

"I know him, yes. He's... always been causing problems with the fairies. His whole group always has been. But I never thought he'd go this far and sink this low..."

"Well he _has_ ," Weiss snapped. "And if you associate yourself with him, then I-"

"No, I..." Blake cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice level. "I know him, but... we aren't exactly friends anymore. He's been doing a lot of bad things in recent seasons that I don't agree with. I guess I'm not too surprised that he was the one who ambushed your group..." Her voice trailed off and she looked to the ground. "If it means anything to you, then I'm sorry."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, admittedly astonished at the beast girl's apology on her brethren's behalf. The fairy cleared her throat again and lowered her voice a bit.

"Enough of this. We can discuss things more later in detail. But for now, I think this mud is beginning to seep into my skin permanently."

Her comment seemed to lift the mood just a little bit, and Blake looked up at her with a small, hopeful smile.

From then on, their entourage continued in silence, and the friction in the air was much less palpable than it had been previously.

Before very much longer, they arrived at the riverside. But before Blake or Weiss could reach the edge, Yang stopped them.

"Hold on! _Paws_ there for a second," she said. "The water's a bit rough here. There's a pool further down where it's still. That'll be nicer to dunk your wings in."

They followed her and Ruby for a few more minutes, until at last they came to a part where the water was shallow and calm. The bank dipped down into a level pool that was much more inviting than the rapids Weiss had recently fallen into.

Blake was already dipping her bare toes into the water and wading in up to her ankles.

"Thanks, you two," she said, dipping her head to Ruby and Yang. "Just give us a few minutes."

"Sure thing!" Ruby squeaked. "I think I want a bath too, Yang!"

"You got it, sis!"

With a bound of excitement, Yang plunged them both into the water with a large splash, spraying Blake with cool wetness. She chuckled a bit and wiped the back of her hand over her face, watching amusedly as the two sisters started swimming and playing together.

When she'd been younger, Blake hadn't liked getting wet. But as she'd matured, she realized she didn't mind the water all that much anymore.

But as Blake began rubbing the mud off of her arms and stomach, she realized there was still one member of their group yet to come into the water.

Weiss stood with her arms crossed and her feet close together, her eyes wary as she looked down at the water. Blake made her way over to the edge of the pool and spoke up.

"Aren't you going to wash the mud off? It was your idea, wasn't it?" she asked. "The water's safe. You can come in."

Weiss still appeared a bit skeptical, and she didn't move a muscle.

"Is it... deep?" she wondered. "There are no currents, are there?"

At her words, Blake recalled what Weiss had revealed earlier, how Adam had run her off a cliff and she'd nearly drowned afterward.

The beast softened her expression a bit and shook her head.

"It's calm here. Promise."

She didn't know what good a promise from a beast was to a fairy, but Weiss seemed to relax just a little bit. Blake moved back so Weiss could step in beside her.

"You can stay next to me if it makes you feel better," she offered.

"I'll be just fine on my own," Weiss mumbled.

She hesitated for another moment, taking a deep breath as she finally headed for the pool. The cold water washed over her feet as she stepped in, drenching her dress for the second time in the past two days. It was a refreshing sensation though, after trekking through the woods and being covered in sun-baked mud for the past hour or so.

Slowly, Weiss sunk down to her shoulders and submerged her wings, feeling the grime and mud washing away. With a sigh, she cupped some water in her hands and brought it up to her face, holding her breath for a moment as she washed her skin clean.

Blake kept an eye on her for a moment before dunking her own head underwater. When she resurfaced, she shook herself off, spraying droplets everywhere as her mass of tangled wet hair got plastered around her neck and shoulders.

Weiss yelped as some of the water was splashed onto her face.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Oh, sorry."

"You'll be sorry alright."

With a flick of her wrist, Weiss splashed a bit of water toward Blake. The beast hissed, though it was more playful than angry.

In retaliation, she pushed a small wave towards Weiss.

It was strange how quickly the malice between them faded, as if the water had simply washed it away. Whatever animosity had been integrated between their two species had been taught to them, but wasn't at all natural.

Now that they were stuck together alone in the woods with no one else to judge their behavior or tell them it was wrong, they were able to smile and laugh.

It happened so quickly and so smoothly that neither noticed until it was already far too late.

But when they both realized they were almost enjoying themselves with someone who was supposed to be an enemy, it seemed to happen at the same time.

They both froze in the water, dripping wet as the smiles faded from their lips. Their eyes met in dismay, and there was an unspoken agreement between them never to mention this, to forget everything that had just happened between them.

Each girl had similar thoughts running through her head:

 _What am I doing...?_

Weiss was the first to recoil, hugging herself swiftly as she stepped back toward dry land.

"I think I've washed enough," she said.

Blake watched her move away, blinking quickly before she could begin to register the sting behind her eyes.

"Me, too. Let's dry off."

She followed Weiss out of the water, but kept her distance from the fairy now.

Ruby and Yang crawled out afterward, their ears drooping and laughter fading.

"What happened?" Ruby whispered. "They were just having so much fun together. Like us."

"I don't know," Yang uttered. "I think there's a lot going on here, sis. Stuff we can't understand."

Sadly, the two watched from afar as Weiss and Blake went back to their stoic selves, as though shaking off remnants of a dream they didn't want to remember.

"Now then," Weiss said as she wrung out her dress. "Our next order of business is food." She turned to look at Ruby. "Where were those berries you were speaking of?"

The red squirrel perked up.

"Right! There's a grove of bushes not far from here full of 'em! Follow us!"

This time, Ruby took the lead on her own, and Yang fell into step behind her. Blake coyly nodded for Weiss to take the middle, but again, the fairy didn't budge until Blake had gone first.

They walked a little ways, feeling the warm breeze drying them off now with the mud gone at last.

Weiss' clothes and skin were fine before long, but her wings were made of a much more delicate material, and she knew they'd be of no use at least until tomorrow.

She reserved her magics, not using them at all to help herself dry faster. As she was now, she knew she only had a limited amount to utilize. She had no gems on her person to carry any magic, and what she did have stored in her necklace, hair band, and clothes would only be of use if she specifically used them; she intended to preserve her magics for when she needed to start flying.

But even those magics were weaker than usual now. Far from home and constantly nervous and frightened of her surroundings, her magics were of little use to her if her heart wasn't strong enough to use them.

 _I'll be fine in the morning,_ she told herself.

As she followed along at the back of the group, Weiss cast her gaze about for any potential danger approaching them. But not even Blake seemed to be tense about anything, therefore the fairy tried her best to relax a bit.

When at last Ruby brought them to a halt, Weiss could already smell something pleasant on the air.

"Here we are! All the berries you can eat!" Ruby declared, scampering off to the nearest bush. "And thanks to the magics of the fairies that blow around on the breezes through the forest, these bushes never stop growing berries! Even in the winter they're always full of food! Whatever you pick and eat today will be back and just as juicy tomorrow!"

With that, she dove in and started stuffing her cheeks with little red fruits. Yang grunted eagerly and plopped down on her haunches, using her paws to bring branches to her mouth to start snacking.

As Blake and Weiss neared the bushes, the beast cast Weiss a curious glance.

"I didn't know that," she said, squatting down in front of a bush.

"Know what?"

"What Ruby said. That the fairies' magics run through the forest and keep these berries growing all year round."

Weiss knelt down and began plucking berries into her palm.

"Well, I'm not surprised you didn't know," she huffed. "What would you beasts know about berries? You eat _living creatures_ for food." She wrinkled her nose distastefully at the thought, and calmed her stomach by popping a sweet berry between her lips.

Blake's ears flattened, and she too wrinkled her wet, black nose.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she said.

"Isn't it?" Weiss snapped at her. "How could you eat animals? Living, breathing creatures that share the forest with us? I can't fathom it. It's just wrong."

But rather than react angrily, Blake kept her voice level.

"You... you don't know, do you?"

Weiss sniffed and kept her eyes on the berries.

"Know what?"

It was Blake's turn to impart some knowledge. She picked a few berries from the bush Weiss was at and swallowed them all in one gulp.

"Beasts eat berries, too," Blake began. "We're omnivores, not carnivores. But when we do eat meat, it's not just because we feel like killing something."

Weiss stiffened, flashing her gaze sideways this time to meet Blake's.

"It's... not?" she wondered. "I was under the impression you killed for sport like humans."

"Not at all," Blake growled, her lip curling in disgust. "Humans kill whatever and whenever they want. But we don't. We only hunt and kill diseased animals. Ones that are infected or suffering. Our bodies are immune to the diseases and illnesses.

"We put them out of their misery and spare other animals from getting ill. When we kill and eat them, it eliminates the sickness. _That's_ why we hunt."

Weiss was speechless for a long moment. She chewed on a berry as an excuse not to talk, absorbing the information Blake had just shared with her. By the time she swallowed, she felt like she had a million things she needed to say or ask.

"I... never knew that," she confessed. "All this time I thought you just killed them because you wanted to."

"Never," Blake said softly. "And I... never knew that your magics kept the forests so plentiful, either. Without that, some of my kin would've died of starvation over the harsh winter. I'd always thought that fairy presence in these woods wasn't essential. But now I see it isn't an option. The entire ecosystem would perish without you."

"It's the same with you," Weiss informed her. "The animals would spread the diseases if it weren't for the beasts. Before long, the illnesses would've spread to us, too. Our magics can't heal everything. Sickness is one of the few things that can kill fairies if it's bad enough.

"I'll bet the beasts' actions saved my sister's life when she fell ill last autumn. The healer said if she came into contact with any more disease, she would've died... But the forests were immaculate of sickness in those months... thanks to you."

Her piercing blue eyes met Blake's directly.

The beast girl flicked her tail and nodded slowly.

"And it was probably your magics that prevented a forest fire my cousins started by accident last summer. The trees never caught fire and the flames extinguished themselves. We never understood why, but now it makes sense... Your magics kept the plants safe.

"To be honest, when I was out alone today before I found you, I was searching for enchanted gems myself. I wanted to prove to my clan that we didn't need to steal from fairies. I want the ambushes to stop just as much as you do."

For a moment, they were both silent, the uneaten berries still in their palms. In just a few minutes conversing with one another, willing to listen and accept the other's words, they'd learned more than they ever had in over four seasons' worth of time.

Their species were at war due to such trivial differences and misunderstandings. And both now realized all of it could've been avoided if they'd simply communicated properly. So much violence and bloodshed could have been avoided...

And it still could be.

When their eyes met again, each girl knew the other was thinking similarly to her own thoughts.

"We've got to get back," Weiss murmured. "My father will think your kind has kidnapped me, and then a war will be inevitable."

"Adam will lie and say he has you captive. He'll try to bargain and trade you for all the fairies' magic gems," Blake added. "And once he has those, he'll reveal that he doesn't even have you as a hostage. There will be fighting in seconds."

Weiss felt her stomach twist, and she promptly stood.

"We need to keep going."

Blake stood beside her and gently grasped her wrist.

"We will. But tomorrow," she said softly. "I know Adam won't act right away. He'll wait a few days at least. For now, it's nearly dusk. And _we_ need to rest and regain our strength and stamina. Your wings need to recuperate. Plus, there's no point in traveling at night."

Blake waited a moment, until Weiss turned to look back at her. The fairy's ice-blue eyes were distraught and uncertain, but willing to listen. Blake continued:

"Please. We'll travel all day tomorrow. We'll have plenty of time. But tonight, we need rest."

Weiss released a shuddering breath, then turned her face. She looked skyward where the sky was turning purple with night, up into the trees and toward the direction she believed home to be. She inhaled sharply, then lifted an arm to wipe her eyes.

"We must wake at dawn," she said. "We've got to travel as much as possible."

"We will," Blake promised.

Another moment of silence passed. Blake didn't let go of her wrist, and Weiss didn't resist her grasp.

Silently, they continued their meal of berries until Ruby and Yang declared it was time to start looking for a safe place to sleep.

After a while of searching, they discovered four trees with the trunks growing together as one. Yang and Ruby climbed up easily to curl up in one of the massive forks formed by the bark.

Blake made quick work of maneuvering her lithe, nimble body up as well, using her tail for balance. She reached down to help Weiss stumble up. The fairy was shaking and clinging to the trunks of the trees until Blake successfully hauled her up to a sturdy spot.

Without a word, Blake left Weiss on a portion of the trees where she could curl up by herself, and the beast girl climbed up to a different section.

As darkness crept in through the canopy of leaves, Weiss leaned her back against the trunk of the tree and lifted her gaze once more. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling damp and worried, knowing she wouldn't sleep well tonight.

But three simple words whispered down from above made her shoulders relax a bit more.

"It'll be okay."

With Blake's promise in her ears, Weiss did her best to allow sleep to come.

* * *

 **A/N: Just to clarify, I'm writing several different ways for fairies to us magic. They have some in their bodies naturally and can store it in items as well, such as clothing, jewelry, and gems/stones. Drawing upon these magics allows them to fly and use spells like making barriers.**

 **Their magics float throughout the forest from where their kingdom is. That's why the berries and other foods grow year-round. But that's just a sprinkle of magic, and it's not enough to let Weiss fly so far from the source. The ability to fly is also directly linked to a fairy's mental and physical wellbeing. As mentioned in this chapter, even if she gets her strength and magic back, Weiss won't be able to fly if she's full of fear and dread.**

 **If you like my work, please consider supporting me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	8. A Deceitful Agreement

**A small intermission chapter. This rewinds a bit and takes place on the night directly after Adam confronts Weiss.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 8. A Deceitful Agreement

Adam trekked through the woods, using his uncanny stealth to his advantage as he blended with the darkness.

He was flanked on all sides by several of his men, all of whom carried small daggers and wood-forged blades.

Past the holes in his mask, Adam could see that they'd crossed into the fairies' territory now, and were only wandering in deeper by the second.

He brought a hand to his shirt pocket, where he was keeping the four strands of the deceased Fairy Princess' hair. He'd wrapped them around a small twig so they wouldn't get tangled or torn. Satisfied in knowing they were still intact, he marched onward through the forest.

The twilight had fallen, and dark shadows dyed the undergrowth while the sky above was painted in an eerie violet. No stars were visible tonight, and clouds shrouded the light of the moon. It was an unnerving kind of night, and as they ventured deeper still, Adam could sense the disturbance in the air.

The forest seemed quiet at first, but now, he could tell something was amiss. And he knew exactly what it was.

There were sounds of flittering wings all around him now, rustling branches from far, far above, accompanied by frantic shrieks and shouts of warning.

The fairies had detected his presence long ago, but he didn't mind. He'd come here tonight to be discovered.

The first warning of harsh words came only seconds later from a loud rustling of leaves above his head.

"Halt!"

Obediently, Adam came to a pause, signaling for the other beasts to do the same. He peered up through the darkness, his vision easily able to discern the several fairy guards hovering there, bows at the ready and arrows aimed toward his legs.

"You're intruding on fairy grounds! Turn back or we shall be forced to take violent action!"

Adam grunted; it was the general warning the fairies always gave, one he knew all too well by now.

Slowly, he reached for his shirt pocket, not to draw a weapon, but something else entirely. The fairy guards tensed, preparing to unleash their rain of arrows upon him.

But Adam spoke firmly to them as he withdrew his only weapon, the stick with the four white hairs on it.

"Tell your king," he said loudly. "That his precious princess is now a prisoner of my clan."

Appalled gasps and shouts came from every fairy present. They all recognized those strands of shining silver hair, and knew they could belong to only one person.

"Foul beast!" One guard shouted. "What have you done to the Princess? We've been searching for her for hours on end! Hand her over unharmed or face the consequences!"

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands," Adam growled. " _I_ am the one withholding the King's daughter. _I_ am the one making demands here."

He carelessly tossed the stick up into the air toward the nearest fairy guard. With a gasp, the fairy darted forward to catch the twig with the precious thin hairs coiled around it. Once it was in his possession, he glowered down at the beasts below.

"What are your demands?"

Adam smiled beneath his mask.

"Tell your king and your people that you have as many days as there are hairs on that stick. Collect all of your precious and magical gems. Every last one. Turn them over to me four sunsets from now, or else your princess will be permanently disposed of."

He couldn't help but chuckle at the outraged and horrified shouts the fairies cried out at his threat. What they didn't know was that the princess was already dead and that their trade of gems would be for nothing. Adam couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces in four days' time.

But for now, he kept his head clear and focused on the present allegations.

"Have we an agreement?" he asked.

The fairy guard carefully passed the stick with the hairs on to his nearest companion, who he then murmured something to. The apprentice took off at top speed through the trees and vanished.

Adam waited for an answer that would likely come with the boy's return.

It didn't take long for the flustered envoy to come pelting back down through the trees to speak to the guard. Adam noted the lack of the twig in his hands now, and could assume he'd given it to the Fairy King and told him the situation.

The envoy transferred the King's response to the guard, who then declared it to Adam in a taut voice.

"Beast," he said. "Our King has accepted your terms. But we will only hand over our gems if the princess is entirely unharmed. Give her a warm place to sleep. Give her food and water. Protect her with your best guards. Only then will we surrender our gems in four sunrises."

Adam smiled easily and even went through the trouble of giving a slight bow.

"Of course. Your princess' comfort and safety are top priority in all of this, after all. You have my word."

The fairy guard glared down at him a moment longer, a mixture of disdain and fear in his eyes.

"Then go," he ordered. "We shall collect our gems. You shall tend to our princess until the designated time."

Adam dipped his head in a false display of politeness.

"As you wish."

With that, he turned away and gestured to his men.

They slipped into the shadows of the forest within seconds, leaving nothing behind them but despair and lies.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry it was a short chapter, but from here on out things chapters will be worth the wait. Remember this is the first night. As of chapter 7, two nights have now passed. In the following chapter 9, it's already the second day.**

 **If you like my work, please support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	9. Failed Flight

**Alright now to start getting to the heart of the matter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 9. Failed Flight

The second night since Weiss had gotten lost from home passed by more quietly than the first had.

Perhaps it was the fact that she'd grown almost accustomed to sleeping in trees by now, or perhaps it was because her mind was somewhat eased with the knowledge that she was now another day closer to home.

But when she truly thought on the matter that morning just as the dawn was breaking, Weiss realized there was another, much more evident reason as to why her nerves were so calm.

Blinking her eyes open a crack, she cast her gaze around the tree where she and her companions had fallen asleep last night. Ruby and Yang were still curled together a few tiers higher, but when her eyes moved to Blake, Weiss could see that those golden eyes were already open and alert.

There was no doubt that Weiss' peace of mind was now majorly due to Blake's presence, and the fact that the fairy was no longer so terribly alone in all of this.

She'd only known Blake for a short while now, and only during a fraction of that time had they been on polite and civil terms with one another.

But despite the brevity of that time, Weiss was truly beginning to trust the beast girl. Slowly but surely.

She could still remember how Blake had held onto her hand to try and prevent Weiss from going off on her own. She could still remember the softness in her voice the previous evening when they'd both opened up to one another about their people and their respective lifestyles.

Weiss felt she understood the beasts a little better now, which had never been something she would've been willing to do before. She hoped Blake understood fairies a bit better by now as well.

Weiss reflected on the memories for a moment, wondering if there might've been something blossoming between Blake and herself, a spark of understanding or perhaps even friendship that might one day expand and grow if given the chance. Losing that possibility was one of Weiss' biggest fears right now, second only to not making it home before something awful could happen.

She shuddered, and was reminded of how badly she needed to get back.

It was still before dawn, too dark to get moving yet. Shifting slightly, she made an effort to stretch her wings a bit, as her back was sore and numb from a long night pressed against a tree trunk.

Her movement – slight as it had been – attracted Blake's immediate attention. The beast girl shot her gaze to the side, ears flattening and tail standing straight up in alarm, until she realized the source of the motion. Weiss jumped a little at Blake's swift ferocity, letting out a startled gasp.

"It's just me!" she whispered.

Blake instantly dropped her defensive crouch from the nearby tree branch and flicked her gaze guiltily over to the fairy's.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No matter. You're a very observant guard, that's for sure," Weiss admitted. She looked away for a moment to glance the sky, where the light was only just beginning to spread colors through it. Directing her gaze back to Blake, she couldn't help but let a bit of concern trickle into her tone now. "Did you sleep at all last night? Or were you up keeping watch?"

Blake flicked an ear toward her and shrugged.

"It was on and off. I woke every hour or so just because I was naturally cautious about our situation. I wanted to make sure everyone was okay."

Her words only confirmed Weiss' assumptions as to why she herself had slept so soundly last night, despite the circumstances; it was all because she'd felt safe and guarded with Blake beside her.

Despite her previous vehement refusal to trust the girl, Weiss couldn't deny that the prospect of willingly letting Blake watch her back wasn't sounding so horrible after all.

Silence dragged between them for a moment, and Blake turned away, staring instead up at the sleeping bear cub and squirrel not far away. It was Weiss' small voice that had her ears perking up tall.

"Thank you."

Blake wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly. A fairy – the _princess_ , no less – displaying genuine gratitude for a beast? She couldn't believe it.

Shaking her head, she looked back to Weiss.

"Pardon?"

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Are those ears of yours working? I said thank you. For keeping watch and for giving me the chance to rest," she said. "But now you should rest. I'll keep watch until the sun's risen, and then I'll wake you and we can head out."

Blake blinked, slightly confused.

"I don't need to go back to sleep. I'm fine."

"Don't argue with me," Weiss warned as gently as possible. "We're going to be covering a lot of distance today, and you'll only slow us down if you're too exhausted from lack of sleep."

Blake bit her lip, but realized Weiss was only being so harsh with her because she wanted Blake to rest. Defeated, the beast girl gave in.

"Alright. I'll rest until sunrise."

"Very good."

Satisfied with Blake's compliance, Weiss watched as the beast girl leaned back against the tree trunk once more and closed her eyes. Even when she tried to sleep, she seemed to be on high alert, in a position that would warrant the use of her fighting abilities in a matter of seconds.

Weiss kept an eye on her from her own position within the tree branches, keeping the rest of her attention on the forest around them.

But nothing was making an effort to disturb them, and before long, she noticed Blake's posture relax as her breathing deepen. The fact that Blake had allowed Weiss to see her sleeping so defenselessly like this - and had willingly agreed to it - told the fairy that she was earning Blake's trust as well, just as she was giving her own.

The Fairy Princess cast her gaze over to where Ruby and Yang still slept in a pile of fur, but other than the bear's snores, nothing was making a sound. Not even the birds were awake yet it seemed, and the only other sounds were the rushes of air through the leaves.

Satisfied that her companions were getting the required rest for the day's journey ahead, Weiss shifted her legs and reached behind her head. She carefully grasped the small hair band holding up her ponytail, the piece of material woven with flowers that her late mother had given to her years earlier.

Weiss removed it for the moment and slipped it instead around her wrist for safekeeping. Out here, she didn't have her personal bristle brush, so she merely combed her own fingernails through her hair to smooth it out.

Despite her falls in the river and mud, her tresses were rather full and luscious, and due to how healthy her magics kept it, not a single strand fell out as she combed through it.

But she still dreaded to remember the feeling of having her hair yanked roughly by that savage boy with the bull horns – Adam, Blake had called him.

Weiss handled her locks with care, humming softly to herself as she continued to comb.

By the time she'd finished and securely wrapped her flowery hair band back into place, the sun had begun to rise above the horizon's mountains. Flecks of gold were seeping in through the trees, and by now the birds had woken and filled the air with their merry songs.

Weiss was anxious to get moving, but didn't want the guilt of waking her peacefully-slumbering companions.

Luckily for her, she didn't need to wake anyone in the end – a particularly loud snore on Yang's part served to do that.

As the bear and the squirrel stretched and yawned together in a bundle of fur, Blake woke much more silently, rubbing her knuckles against her eyes and dangling her legs over the side of the branch to rouse them a bit. Her golden gaze went to Weiss' blue one almost instantly, and the fairy felt her face get a little warm when she noticed the concern in Blake's eyes.

Taken aback, Weiss tilted her head and asked first.

"What is it?"

But the beast girl merely shook her head.

"It's nothing. Let's go find some breakfast and then get going."

Weiss nodded in agreement. She stretched out her limbs and unfurled her wings for the moment, watching the others descend from the tree.

Ruby did so quickly and with ease, chittering excitedly about the adventures that awaited them today. Yang clambered down a little more slowly, landing in the grass below with a small thud.

Blake maneuvered her way down with almost as little effort as Ruby had, despite her size, and her landing was just as silent. Her tail balanced her body weight perfectly, while her ears perked tall to stay alert now that the forest was writhing with life.

Once the three of them were down, they all turned expectantly to look up at Weiss.

"C'mon, Princess!" Yang called up. "We don't got all day!"

"Give me a moment!" Weiss snapped. "You can't rush the usage of wings after sleeping an entire night with your back pressed against a tree trunk."

"Wings?" Ruby gasped excitedly. "Oooh, you're gonna fly down? I wanna see! I haven't seen you fly yet since we've met you!"

"Patience," Weiss huffed down at her.

But Ruby's words were entirely true; Weiss hadn't flown at all within the past few days. It felt... odd, at the very least.

As a fairy who'd flown at least a little bit every day of her life until recently, Weiss was starting to feel even more anxious now.

She peeled herself away from the tree trunk and shook out her wings a little more. The early-morning sunlight was caught in the transparent membrane, glowing golden through the lightly-blue-tinged veins.

Weiss' abstinence of using her magics within the past few days ensured she still had some left to spare should she need to fly. There was a bit of magic stored up in her jewelry and hair band as well, though she'd only ever utilize those as a last resort.

For now, she did her best to call upon the magics that her body naturally harbored, concentrating as she tried to rouse it from her very soul. She felt a trickle of it move, spreading from her chest to her back, collecting at the base of her wings at her spine. The magic flowed through her wings, making them emit a faint glow of blue.

A quick glance down at the forest floor showed her Blake was watching with mesmerized eyes. Clearly, she'd never seen a fairy preparing for flight before, and Weiss was a little flattered to be the first.

Once she felt the magics had successfully spread throughout her wings, she opened them up to their full length where they fanned out at either side of her back. Each wing was nearly as large as her own body when expanded to full length. And with the way the light was shining down through them...

"Wow..." Blake couldn't help but let out a small mumble of awe.

Weiss smirked and looked down at her.

"You flatter me."

Once Blake realized she'd said her dazed comment aloud, she quickly covered her mouth and looked away. Ruby and Yang giggled, the former jumping up and down on the latter's back as she called up to Weiss.

"Fly, Weiss, fly!"

"Yes, yes," the fairy sighed. "And once I can manage that, I can fly up above the treetops and get an idea of where we are in the forest. That should cut some time off our journey."

She slipped her legs over the side of the branch and held onto the trunk with only one hand, preparing to lean forward. Her audience waited below with curious eyes.

Back home, other fairies never made a big deal about Weiss or anyone else taking flight, but to these three, it was something they'd never seen up close before. She was very flattered indeed, and wanted to show off for them a little bit.

But as she leaned forward and prepared to catch a current of air, an awful pain shot through her wings. The second she moved them, a stifling soreness spread through them, and they crumpled against her back.

" _Ah_ -!"

Crying out in pain, Weiss clutched at the tree for support, but her legs were already pulling her over.

Instantly, her companions became alarmed.

"W-What's going on?" Ruby squeaked.

"Hey, you okay?" Yang called up.

But rather than speak, Blake had quickly rushed forward to position herself beneath the tree.

As Weiss' fingernails scraped against the bark, her weight took her over the edge, her wings fluttering uselessly behind her. She heard the violent rush of air whipping past her face and through her hair, heard Ruby's and Yang's startled cries.

But the pain in her wings was too great to overcome during a free-fall. It stabbed throughout her body to the tips of her toes, an awful throbbing like nothing she'd ever felt before. Her eyelids closed as she fell dizzyingly, helplessly...

" _Weiss!_ "

The tense cry of her name was shortly followed not by a bone-breaking landing, but rather a softer one. She fell directly into Blake's arms, bumping against her chest for a brief instant before the both of them were taken to the ground.

Blake crouched down on one knee to absorb the impact a bit, wrapping an arm around the small of Weiss' back to ensure she didn't roll.

Even just the slight physical contact she was having with Weiss said enough.

Blake could feel an erratic throbbing on the fairy's back, just beneath her wings. With the way Weiss' chest was presently resting against her own, Blake could discern that the pulse in the girl's back was separate from Weiss' frightened heartbeat.

It wasn't Weiss' pulse in her wings, but rather Blake could tell they were muscle spasms of sorts, twisting and gnarling in all the wrong ways. The pretty wings that had stood proud and tall just seconds ago folded over on themselves and withered, going limp and dragging against the grass below.

Weiss was panting in her arms, fingers clutching onto Blake's chest and forearms with a surprising grip. The beast girl scooped Weiss into a more comfortable position on her lap.

She noted that this proximity wasn't enough to set the fairy off, despite its intimacy, whereas she'd half expected Weiss to push her away.

But the girl was clearly in excruciating agony, and Blake didn't know what she could do to stop it.

"Weiss?" she murmured. "What happened? What's wrong with your wings?"

The fairy hissed in an agonized breath, trying to keep still for fear that movement would only enhance the pain.

"I don't... ah..."

She whimpered, tucking her face into Blake's shoulder and biting her lip. Her nails were still digging into Blake's skin and clothes, but the beast girl didn't pay any mind to them.

She didn't know what level of contact would be appropriate with the Princess of the Fairies when she was in such a position. But Blake acted naturally, ignoring Weiss' species and status for the moment – right now, she was simply another girl in pain.

Blake rubbed a palm beneath Weiss' wings, at the small of her back. She braced her other hand at Weiss' hip to keep her steady.

By now, Ruby and Yang had crept up nearby, tail fluffed and ears down, respectively. Blake caught their worried gazes and murmured a plea to them.

"Could you two find us some food? She needs to get her strength back."

The two nodded quietly and took off into the bushes.

With them gone now, Blake turned her full attention back to Weiss. The throbbing in her back had subsided a bit by now, and her breathing was losing its harshness, both of which were indications that the pain was ebbing away.

Blake waited for a moment, keeping her senses focused on Weiss' condition and on the surrounding woods.

When at last the fairy could speak, her voice was a dire contrast to the loud, confident tone Blake was used to by now. Rather now, it was thin and scared.

"Blake..." she gasped. "My wings-"

"You don't know what happened?" she wondered gently.

"I'm not sure... When I moved and stretched them, they were fine, but trying to _use_ them... There was this awful pain. I'd thought the bones had broken. It was horrible..."

Blake couldn't even fathom her pain. She had no wings, and had never flown before. To a fairy like Weiss, flying came as naturally as breathing.

But Blake could only try to imagine the terrifying prospect of trying to fly as effortlessly as ever before, only to discover her wings had failed her. Imagining the fall alone had her stomach flipping over, and she shook her head to chase the thoughts away.

It was then Weiss managed to pull away from her a bit, mumbling apologies for using her nails. She exhaled shakily, and Blake was at a loss for what to do.

But what Weiss did next nearly had her sobbing.

The frail fairy gazed up at Blake past frazzled white bangs, her blue eyes laden with uncertainty and fear.

"Blake..." she whispered. "What's happening to me?"

Blake could almost feel her heart breaking, and she suspected Weiss' was doing the same. She didn't think when she pulled the girl into another gentle embrace, keeping her close for the moment.

"I'm sure... it was just..." Blake fumbled for words, trying to sound convincing to the both of them. "It was just the rough night's sleep. Putting your wings against that tree probably made them sore, right? I'm sure that's all it is. Just let them rest a little while longer."

Weiss merely ducked her face into the side of Blake's neck and nodded.

"You're right... I'm sure that's... all it is..."

Blake bit her lip and swallowed, keeping her hands pressed firmly to Weiss' back by means of support.

"Don't worry. You'll be home soon. Everything will be alright."

Weiss didn't reply.

Blake held her there for a while longer, until the rustling of nearby bushes alerted her to Ruby and Yang's return.

Ruby had expertly folded up a leaf in her little claws and tentatively handed it to Weiss. Upon opening it, a handful of berries was revealed.

Weiss thanked her tiredly and did her best to eat them.

Yang had brought back a fish from the river for Blake, one that had a damaged fin and would've only suffered a long painful death had she not ended its life so mercifully. Blake thanked her as well, and stayed close to Weiss as she ate.

The sisters reassured them they'd already eaten their fill while out in the forest, so once Weiss and Blake had finished, they were ready to head out.

Blake buried the fish bones respectfully before standing and dusting off her clothes a bit.

But she noticed Weiss had yet to get to her feet.

Tail flicking nervously, Blake offered the Fairy Princess her palm.

Weiss looked up gratefully at her and slowly accepted. She was pulled to her feet, and Weiss folded her wings up completely behind her, taking Blake's advice to let them rest some more.

With that, Yang and Ruby led the way, and the four of them set out.

Blake kept hold of Weiss' hand all the while, and Weiss never let go.

* * *

 **A/N: It's all more intense from here. Thanks for keeping up!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	10. Stale Scent

**Thanks to everyone keeping up with this!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 10. Stale Scent

Weiss held onto Blake's hand all the while as they trekked through the unfamiliar territories.

She kept the quickest pace possible without exerting too much of her energy all at once, but she couldn't help thinking how much swifter she would've been if she'd been able to fly. The issue of her wings failing her had been bothering her for hours now, and she'd hardly spoken a word since they'd set out.

Blake had only known her for a short amount of time, but she knew Weiss' personality well enough by now to understand that a lack of speaking meant the fairy was deeply troubled.

Blake didn't know if there was anything she could do to help ease Weiss' mind. She didn't want to make an attempt, only to find it upset Weiss even further.

Therefore, Blake kept her lips pursed as they continued to walk through the midday forest, maintaining her firm, supportive grip on Weiss' palm.

Ruby and Yang led on, sparing the group utter silence by chatting casually with one another and reminiscing on old memories.

"Oh, oh!" Ruby squeaked from atop Yang's head. "And this was around the spot where we met that fox family a few springs ago! Those little pups were soooo cute!"

"Yeah, when they weren't trying to _eat_ you," Yang reminded her.

"I wonder if they're still around here..." Ruby scrambled down from Yang's back and started walking along the grass for herself, putting her nose to the ground and sniffing a few times. "Hmm... I think I can smell them, but it seems kinda stale. Or like there's another scent overlapping it? I'm not sure..."

Yang nudged her sister's tail and encouraged her to keep moving.

"Well, maybe it's for the better that they've moved on. We wouldn't want them popping out at us again to trying and make a snack outta you."

"I guess you're right."

Blake had been waiting for an appropriate time to interject, and felt now was as good as any.

"Ruby? Yang?" she called softly. "I don't mean to sound like I'm rushing things, but do you have a time estimate of how far away we are from our- er... Weiss' part of the forest?" She changed her words at the last second, realizing that she and the fairy wouldn't exactly be returning to quite the same place.

Yang paused for a moment and looked around the forest, then gazed back at the beast girl.

"We're actually not too far away. In fact, I'd say you'll be back by tomorrow if we keep up this pace."

Blake's ears perked up hopefully.

"Really? By tomorrow? That's good to hear." She looked back to Weiss, giving a slight tug on her wrist to get her attention. "Did you hear that, Weiss? You should be back home by tomorrow."

The fairy had only stumbled forward in a daze until now, but at the sound of Blake's voice addressing her, Weiss glanced up.

"By tomorrow?" she repeated. "Then I can see Father and Winter again. And I can... get my wings looked at..." Her gaze fell to the ground once more, a wave of guilt washing through her. She couldn't help but think that her wings failing had somehow been her own fault.

Blake could sense the girl wasn't as thrilled about the news as she should've been.

As Yang and Ruby continued to lead them onward, Blake maintained a bit of distance from the two so she may speak to Weiss in privacy.

"What's wrong? Do they still hurt that badly? Even though you haven't used them for so long?"

It might've been presumptuous of her, but an ounce of concern had seeped its way into her voice. She kept pace beside Weiss, never letting go of her hand as they continued to walk, their bare feet padding through the stiff grass.

Weiss kept her eyes down, head bowed almost shamefully.

"They still ache. And it must be... something I've done. A fairy's wings are her pride and joy, and to find they wouldn't work properly is a poor reflection of the fairy's soul. This must be a punishment somehow..."

Blake stopped walking altogether then. She didn't care that halting right now would delay them a few precious moments in getting back home – there was something she needed to tell Weiss, and she needed the girl to focus on it entirely.

"Weiss..."

She let go of the fairy's hand for the first time all day, and that action alone startled the princess. Weiss looked up at Blake fearfully, wondering if her confession had made Blake angry with her.

But Blake merely reached out gently with both hands and rested them each atop Weiss' shoulders. Weiss flinched at the contact, but it was more of an instinctive response than a conscious one.

"Blake...? What is it?"

The beast girl swished her tail soothingly, her ears flicking to indicate she wasn't upset.

"I don't know too much about wings, or fairies, really. But from what I know about you, I think you're wrong, Weiss. You haven't done anything bad that would warrant a punishment of any kind. You've only been righteous in defending your territory and your people, from both Adam's group and from me.

"But you've also started to trust strangers like Ruby and Yang... and maybe even myself," she added hopefully. "Whatever happened to your wings, I don't think it's anything you can control. It's not your _fault_ , Weiss. Don't blame yourself for it. That won't help you get home any faster."

Weiss couldn't look anywhere else but up into Blake's earnest eyes. The person she'd once viewed as hostile and even potentially-threatening was now the only person she could turn to.

Weiss sniffed once, bringing up her forearm to wipe over her eyes briefly.

"Blake..." she mumbled. "What you said about me trusting you... It's no longer a 'maybe'."

With that said, Weiss stepped away, her shoulders instantly missing the warmth of Blake's palms. But to prove her point, this needed to be done.

Weiss slowly started walking after Ruby and Yang, leaving Blake behind at the back of the group.

At first, the beast girl was hurt, taking Weiss' actions as a sign of rejection.

But as she started to follow along, her eyes traveled up to Weiss' back, where the white materials of her dress were flowing now, hair ponytail and folded wings bouncing slightly with every step she took.

And Blake understood then.

Just a day or so ago, Weiss had adamantly refused to walk in front of Blake, barking the claim that she would never entrust her back to a beast.

So for her to willingly turn away from Blake now, to show Blake her back with all her defenses down...

There was no higher honor a beast could receive from a Fairy Princess.

With her own spirits now lifted, Blake followed along behind Weiss.

And while she appreciated being trusted with watching the girl's back, she had to admit she missed the warmth of that hand in hers.

* * *

They walked on for the remainder of the day, stopping only occasionally to seek out the river for a drink, or to gather a few berries from the nearby bushes.

They walked as much as they could for as long as they could without any of them risking over-exertion.

But by the time the sun began to set, Blake felt she was beginning to recognize these parts of the forest, just a little bit. They were probably on the outskirts of her homeland territory.

In the distance, when she focused her ears and eyes, she could hear a rush of water and see a large cliff face. Recalling Weiss' story of how she'd escaped from Adam, that was probably the spot where she'd jumped.

Ruby and Yang were right about their guess that they'd make it home by tomorrow.

But dusk was falling now, and if Blake knew anything, it was that traveling unfamiliar woods at night wasn't a good idea, even for beasts with superior vision. She could tell by the way Weiss was starting to slow her pace in front of Blake that the Fairy Princess was exhausted, too.

Blake couldn't blame her – when she herself had an entire fish to eat before, Weiss had only been eating a few berries here or there.

But she knew Weiss well enough by now to be stubborn, especially when it came to getting back home. She'd insist she was fine and that they keep moving until it was completely dark.

Therefore, it was Blake who called up to Ruby and Yang and requested they stop for the night.

"My feet are getting sore," she announced. "And plus, with all the crickets chirping now, it'd be easier for me to listen for danger if we stayed in one spot."

The bear turned back to her and nodded.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me."

"Same here..." Ruby was lying sprawled on her sister's back, already half asleep.

As expected, Weiss turned around to face Blake, clearly wanting to protest. But the beast girl stepped forward and silenced her by gently taking her hand.

"Let's rest. You'll be back home by tomorrow."

Weiss cast a longing glance toward the waterfall hissing in the distance. She heaved a sigh and dipped her head.

"Very well."

They began searching for suitable trees they'd be able to climb for the night. Yang deposited Ruby for the moment and started pacing around, looking for a sturdy trunk that could support the weight of all four of them. Ruby started sniffing at the ground as well, yawning several times as she did so.

"Mm, hey... I can smell that smell again," she mumbled.

Yang rolled her eyes and padded over to her sister.

"What smell, Ruby? Ya gotta be more specific than that. There are a _lot_ of smells to smell."

"I mean like..." Ruby straightened up a bit, and her tail became fluffy in alarm. "That smell from before... back near the foxes..."

Blake had overheard, and she made her way over to the little red squirrel.

"Do you smell foxes?"

"No... it's not foxes... I'm not sure _what_ it is..."

Blake took a whiff of air for herself, closing her eyes so she could focus on the scent.

Ruby was right. There was the scent of some _other_ animal here.

"The fox scent is stale..." Blake mumbled. "But what kind of animal could chase out foxes? I could only think of bears, but this scent isn't bear..."

"Yeah," Ruby chittered. "It's not bears. I would've recognized that scent," she said, waving her tail at Yang. "It's something else, but I can't-"

Her words were abruptly cut off by a bone-chilling sound that answered their questions.

An eerie howl cut through the night, temporarily silencing even the crickets.

It shook the air, and it had even Yang freezing where she stood.

Blake swallowed thickly, faintly aware of Weiss' panicked gasp from beside her.

The only animal roaming the forests that was capable of chasing out predators like foxes, but immensely more aggressive than a bear-

"Wolves..."

Blake's deduction was quickly followed by a series of howls and snarls, indication that the animals weren't far at all. The fur on her ears and tail was standing on end, and Ruby and Yang were equally as uneasy.

"We're on their territory-" Yang whispered.

"We have to-" Ruby's warning was cut short by a chorus of growls from the surrounding woods.

Blake instinctively grasped Weiss' arm and pulled her close, shielding the fairy as best she could.

"We're surrounded..." Blake rasped.

How could she not have noticed them? She'd been too distracted by the prospect of getting back home that she'd neglected to recognize how much danger they were still in.

Her ears swiveled in every direction, trying to seek out a clear path. Weiss trembled beside her, clutching tightly to Blake's arm.

"W-Wolves..." she stammered. "I-I've only ever h-heard stories about them. They're some of the only animals that won't communicate with us - not when they're furious and hungry. I-I've never actually seen them before, because I've never been on the ground at this hour of the night..."

Her eyes were wide with fear as her gaze swept around the darkened forest. She silently cursed herself for having broken her bow and arrows during their journey. She would have used them as warnings to fend the wolves off, but now she was entirely defenseless.

The growls and snarls grew in volume by the second, and she could hear the cracking of leaves and twigs under large paws. Ruby and Yang were pressed to Blake's other side, and the beast girl herself was frozen stiff.

As the seconds ticked on, Weiss could feel the wolves drawing closer with every painful beat of her heart. There must have been a dozen of them, an entire pack circling them from the shadows. Weiss could even see the gleam of their eyes now.

She was too terrified to even try unfolding her wings, but the ache in her back told her they still wouldn't have been able to lift her anyway. She bit into her bottom lip in a fruitless effort to keep it from quivering.

"I don't... want to die here..." she whimpered. "I want to go home..."

Her words seemed to have snapped Blake out of a trance of her own. Weiss felt the beast girl's tail wrap around her hip, drawing her closer.

"We've got to run," Blake mumbled. "Straight ahead there's a small opening in their circle. If we can just run far enough to buy us some time, we can climb up a tree. They can't follow us there. We'd just have to climb faster than they can run."

Ruby curled her tail tighter around herself.

"Y-You make it sound like it'll be easy!"

"But we can't just run," Yang muttered. "The second we move a muscle, they'll charge. We'll never make it to a tree in time."

Weiss stopped trembling long enough to think clearly.

"We need a distraction..."

She moved with painstaking slowness. Bending her back, Weiss reached down an arm to the ground, fingertips groping for something – anything.

Her eyes stayed trained ahead of her, set on the path Blake had indicated was safe for the time being. She heard more snarls, heard more paw-steps coming closer.

But the soft, supporting pressure of Blake's tail on her back kept her grounded.

Weiss' fingers passed over a hard surface. She picked up a rock about the size of her palm and slowly straightened her back again.

"Get ready..." she warned the others.

They tensed, ready to bolt.

Then, in one swift motion, Weiss tossed the rock behind her as far as she could.

The swift motion and resulting noise alerted the wolves to that direction. They leapt toward the movement with snapping jaws, temporarily clearing the path ahead.

Blake was pulling the others forward in a split second.

"RUN!"

They dashed forward, Ruby quickly skittering ahead of the others. She easily scrambled up the nearest tree in a matter of seconds. Yang was right behind her, digging her claws into the bark and hauling herself up over the lowest branches.

But before Weiss or Blake could even begin climbing, the wolves had already turned on them and charged.

"Go, _go!_ " Blake shouted. She gave a shove to Weiss' back and took off, streaking through the darkness as fast as her feet could carry her.

She tore through a bramble thicket, ignoring the scratches and stings that resulted from it. She could almost feel the wolves' hot breath on her heels.

With a mighty jump, Blake reached up for the nearest tree and dug her nails in. Kicking fiercely, she scrambled until she was high up enough to top three times her own height. Panting, she whipped around to look for Weiss.

But there was no one behind her.

Panic coursed through her as her wild eyes scoured the forest below, searching for any sign of the fairy.

"Weiss?!" she shouted. "Weiss!"

Past the vicious snarls and the blood rushing in her ears, Weiss could make out Blake's terrified voice. Judging by the distance and direction, Weiss could discern the beast girl had successfully managed to get herself up a tree.

Weiss wasn't so lucky.

In her haste to keep close to Blake, she'd gotten herself caught in the bramble thicket. Her dress was snagged in several different places, and the wolves were only seconds away from crashing through to reach her.

Being a fairy, her bodyweight was only half of what it should appear to be, and she didn't have enough force with which to tear herself free. Weiss could hardly catch her breath, frightened whimpers clogging her lungs as she struggled to free herself.

"B-Blake!" she called back. "I-I'm-"

She cut off with a scream as a wolf lunged at her. Weiss could feel its muscular body bump against her side, and she was thrown forward. Her dress was torn free by the impact, but it knocked her to the ground.

As she desperately tried to find her footing again, all she could hear were the angry growls. The wolves had her trapped in the thicket now.

When she tried to stand, Weiss felt a sharp yank on her hair, and it reminded her of Adam's relentless grip. Thorns had caught in her hair, trapping her in place.

Another wolf lunged at her, salivating jaws agape. Weiss shrieked and only just managed to put up a magical barrier around herself. She didn't have much magic left in her body, her jewelry, or her clothes, and being far from home where neither the trees nor air were laden with fairy magic, she had no place or time to replenish herself.

The barrier worked to repel the single wolf, but she knew she couldn't muster up any more.

The next wolf to jump would surely reach her.

"N-No!" she cried. "Stay back!"

But where other animal species would have comprehended her words, the wolves were too enraged and territorial to listen.

However, her display of magic just now had seemed to startle the wolves, and they all came to a halt, cautious to engage her.

But the fear pulsing off of her in waves was too strong not to notice. It encouraged them to start circling again, ready to pounce.

Weiss cried out in pain as the thorns ripped at her hair again. She could feel one was snagged in her beloved hair band, the one her mother had given her. Tears swelled up in her eyes and overflowed down her cheeks.

"I don't... want to die..." she pleaded.

She called upon the very last shreds of her magics, pulling them up from the confines of her soul. A weak blue barrier surrounded her, but it flickered by the second, threatening to disappear altogether before very much longer.

The wolves prowled just a few feet away, waiting for her shield to falter.

Weiss fumbled her hands in an effort to free her hair band, but her hands were shaking too much. It was tangled within the brambles. If she tried to run, she could probably free herself, but her mother's hair band would be destroyed.

"I-I can't... I can't-"

" _Weiss!_ "

Blake's voice rang out louder than the growls. The Fairy Princess tilted her head upward a little, but not far enough that would risk tearing her mother's hair band. She could just barely see Blake from here, standing safely atop a thick tree branch just above her.

Weiss blinked away more tears, feeling her magic dwindling.

"Blake..."

"Weiss, what are you doing?" Blake yelled down to her. "You've got a barrier up! Just tear free!"

"I-I can't-"

"Yes you can, Weiss!"

"Blake, I _can't!_ " she screamed.

Her voice echoed out around the forest, the vehemence and desperation in her tone telling Blake there was more to this than she could comprehend right away.

But they were out of time.

Weiss' magics faded, and the barrier went along with it.

The wolves seized their opportunity and leapt.

Past the vicious snarls, a single scream rose up, and was cut short.

* * *

 **A/N: What kind of consequences will this have for their journey?**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	11. The Longest Night

**Thanks to anyone who's been keeping up with this one, I really appreciate it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 11. The Longest Night

There was so much noise.

Blake's ears were ringing and reverberating with every last one of them.

The snarls and barks of the wolves, the pounding of her own heart, the rush of air as she jumped down from the tree...

And Weiss' scream.

Blake didn't need to think twice. She'd already jumped down even before the wolves had charged the defenseless fairy.

Now, all Weiss could do was lift her arms in an effort to defend herself, a thin, frail layer of white skin and clothes the only things protecting her from a brutal flurry of claws and fangs.

Well, perhaps those weren't the only things now.

Weiss screamed, because she could feel the wolves' breath at her throat, but she was still pinned in place by her hair band, motionless. She knew it would only be a matter of seconds before the pain started shredding her apart.

She closed her eyes.

But the claws never reached her.

There was still the rush of furious motion all around her, sounds of growls and whimpers and shouts filling her ears until they burned.

A familiar voice told her why she was still in one piece.

Upon reopening her flinching blue eyes, Weiss confirmed her fears.

Blake was there now, shielding Weiss with her own body, just as she'd done before. She'd procured a knife somehow, likely one she'd kept hidden on her person until now. In her other hand was a pointed stone, probably the only feasible weapon she could find in the heat of the moment.

With a furious battle cry, she swung both weapons around on all sides, deflecting the wolves one by one as they pounced.

Weiss could only cower behind her defender's back, arms still raised and trembling. Thorns still stabbed at her limbs and dress, and she could feel blood trickling down in more places than one.

But she dared not move, lest she destroy her mother's hair band or somehow interfere with Blake's concentration. After all, the latter was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment.

So she remained as still as possible, doing her best to swallow her sobs of terror.

And just a foot ahead of her, Blake valiantly fought off the wolves, using whatever she could to keep them at bay. She didn't aim her blades to kill, but the slashes she made on them were more than enough to warrant several of the animals running off whimpering.

Blake used whatever she could – her hands, her feet, even her shoulder at one point – to shove them away. She let out a few snarls of her own, guttural sounds Weiss had never heard from her before, but could assume would be very effective sounds when warding off aggressive animals.

All of Blake's combined efforts seemed to be working. With another shout, she lunged at the nearest wolf with her knife, but quickly recoiled, faking it out enough to have it turn tail and scurry off.

By then, only a few remained. Perhaps they'd gotten tired of this hunt, or perhaps they didn't want to risk being cut up, but they eventually retreated as well, slinking away into the darkness to merge with the shadows and silence.

And then all was eerily still.

If Weiss hadn't been shaking so badly and she hadn't been watching Blake gasp for breath, she might've believed it had all just been an illusion.

But it became all too real when her companion suddenly collapsed to her knees.

Weiss cried out to her in a fluster.

"Blake?!"

The beast girl groaned, hunching forward and dropping her weapons. Instead, she used her hands to clutch her sides and arms, crumpling in on herself as the pain and exhaustion from her fight took hold.

Weiss felt even more tears run down her face. Blake was only a few feet away from her, and yet she was still ensnared in these cursed thorns.

She quickly reached back behind her head, fingers fumbling with the brambles to try and free her hair. More cuts appeared along her arms and legs as she thrashed about, tearing her dress free only to get it snagged once more. Her wings were also filled with tiny punctures now, the delicate membrane having been ripped in all different places. Weiss sobbed again as she tried to wring herself free and get to Blake.

"Blake, _ah_ -!"

Another briar yanked at her hair, and she could hear the slight tearing sound coming from her hair band.

Weiss' voice had Blake titling her head a little, wincing as she opened one eye to look back at the tangled fairy. She looked like a butterfly snagged in a spider's web.

"Weiss..."

"Blake-" she gasped. "J-Just hold on..."

But she wasn't sure if she could. A wave of nausea surged over Blake, crashing over her hard enough to flatten her ears. Intangible as it was, it still managed to knock her to the ground where she lie on her side, panting meekly.

The sight of her lying there prone was what wrenched Weiss' heart hardest of all.

" _Blake!_ " she wailed.

In her desperation, she put Blake above all else now.

With a powerful pull of all the weight in her body – light as it was – she managed to yank herself free. She closed her eyes, knowing what was to come.

The sound of fabrics tearing near her ears told her that the hair band her mother had crafted for her had been shredded.

But Weiss didn't look back.

With its binding gone now, her hair was released like an overflowing silver waterfall. She wrestled her way out of the thicket without a second thought, bursting through the final few vines and dropping to her knees at Blake's side.

"Blake!" she gasped. "Where-"

But she didn't need to finish asking to get her answer.

Long claw marks ran up Blake's right arm and covered both of her legs. Blood was still leaking out and seeping into the moonlit grass, dyeing the silver light in a sickening purple.

Weiss could tell that Blake had been stricken at least three times, but she knew the beast girl had lasted three times longer than Weiss ever would have.

Bearing a fairy's delicate weight and fragile stature, Weiss would have gone down after only the first hit. Fairies were more akin to birds than any other creature; a single impact would easily bowl them over and jeopardize their wings, hence why they tended to use forged, long-range weapons to defend themselves.

But Blake, being of a broader, more muscular figure, had managed to withstand several attacks from full-grown wolves.

Weiss could only imagine her bravery, her fear, and her pain. She herself was a mess of frazzled hair and clothes, but Blake was awfully still, cringing and curling in on herself as she struggled to catch her breath.

Weiss' heart was hammering with fear now, twice as hard as it had been when she'd been faced with the pack of wolves. For whatever reason, she was more scared for Blake than she had been for her own life just moments ago.

"Blake," she whispered. "Just hold on..." She reached down, passing a small, gentle hand over Blake's side. "I-I used up most of my magics on my barriers, but I th-think I can still use some to heal."

She did her best not to move Blake too much, but needed to turn her over a little to expose her wounds.

The resulting cries of pain had Weiss whimpering more apologies.

Her hands eventually came to rest over the gashes in Blake's arm and legs. Weiss swallowed thickly, choking out a small cough.

Closing her eyes, the fairy tried to concentrate on her remaining magics. There were none left in her body or wings – she'd need a while to replenish those. All that was left were a few strands that had resided within her necklace, and a bit within her clothing and the decorative flowers adorned there.

She drew out every last shred of it that she could and focused it all in her hands before transferring it over to Blake.

And Blake could feel it.

Weiss' magic was cool and small, like a tiny stream flowing over the wounds that burned. It eased the pain, enough for the gashes to stop bleeding and start closing up at an accelerated rate. She could feel the tension gradually leaving her body, her taut expression softening and no longer contorting in an display of agony. Her ears started to go limp with relief, and her breath came easier.

For a long moment, she simply lie there, eyes closed as she accepted all of Weiss' healing magics.

By the time that little stream stopped flowing, Blake couldn't even feel the burns of her wounds any longer.

Slowly, she cracked open her eyes and flashed her gaze down at her knees. The cuts along her legs had all but been patched up, with only a few pink lines left behind to mark where her dire injuries had once been.

She dared to move an arm to push herself up, and the pain that had been there just moments ago had vanished almost completely now. She only swayed a little bit, bringing a hand up to her head to ensure both of her ears were still attached.

A small hand tapped against her shoulder and remained there to help keep her upright.

She finally looked up, finding those tired blue eyes just inches away from her own. Tears were dripping down the fairy's face, shimmering in the moonlight, and Blake was touched beyond words that Weiss would cry for her sake.

"Weiss..." she mumbled. "You... you saved my life..."

Weiss blinked, and another tear fell from each eye.

"And you mine..." she croaked.

Now that Blake's eyes could refocus in the dim moonlight, she could see that Weiss was sweating profusely. Her porcelain skin was coated in a veil of it, her chest and shoulders heaving.

Blake could only imagine the physical exertion associated with using up the last of one's magics.

Carefully, quietly, she opened her arms and pulled Weiss into a soft embrace, cradling her with a fondness she couldn't explain or justify. She could feel Weiss shaking again, the result of all the hectic things she'd just endured and survived, no doubt.

Blake patted gently up and down the girl's back, taking extra care with her wings. She could see the cuts and scrapes that coated Weiss' body and clothes, even felt the rips in her wings. She knew the girl had used up the last of her magics not to heal herself, but to save Blake.

She felt the hesitation of small hands clutching at her back, and then felt as Weiss' grip on her tightened until it was unrelenting.

"B-Blake..." she gasped, breath hitching. "I-I'm-"

"Shh..." she purred. "You don't have to talk right now. We can do that later. For now just calm your heart."

Blake could feel it more clearly than she could feel her own. Weiss' pulse was rapid and straining, the results of the crushing fear of being chased by the wolves, then trapped in the thicket, and finally using up the last of her magics.

In any other situation, she felt Weiss would have stubbornly refused and gone on speaking anyway. But now, Blake felt the fairy nod her head and remain still, pressing as closely to her as possible.

They both took a moment to breathe, savoring the cool nighttime breeze as it danced around them in the whispers of the winds.

But stronger than the chill of the night was the warmth kindling between them.

Despite the fear that had overridden them and the blood that had been shed, their embrace was soft and tender.

They waited until breathing came easier again, until the trembling stopped and the pulses slowed.

Another breeze had Blake's scraggly onyx hair lifting slightly, but she noticed Weiss' more than her own. Silver strands drifted up and around the fairy's shoulders, soft and silken like strands of cobweb. It was the first time Blake noted that Weiss' hair had been let down from its ponytail.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she gingerly pulled away to ask.

"Weiss... why couldn't you tear free? I know you were scared and it was really difficult... but I feel there was another reason. Can you tell me...?"

She didn't want to force Weiss into revealing things better left unsaid, but Blake saw no harm in requesting an answer.

It took her a moment, but Weiss eventually sat back, reaching a hand behind her head as if to confirm the looseness of her hair.

Then, without a word, she pushed herself to her feet and padded over to the thicket.

Blake's gaze followed her, watching as Weiss bent down to pick up some tiny objects. Upon closer inspection, Blake discovered them to be the remnants of flowers, tiny white and blue and purple petals that had been torn to pieces in the fray.

Weiss painstakingly collected every petal, every stem, every leaf, until her palm was filled with them. She returned to Blake and sank to her knees once more.

"This hair band..." she murmured. "My mother had made it for me. It was one of my treasures..."

Her words had Blake's heart sinking, her tail and ears drooping. Blake still had both of her parents back at home, and she knew they were probably worried sick about her. She couldn't imagine losing either of them.

"And you..." she rasped. "You wouldn't break it to free yourself... but you broke it... so you could come help _me_...?"

Blake was in disbelief. Surely there was some other explanation behind it all?

But Weiss didn't deny her assumption. In fact, she nodded, locks of silver slipping down over her shoulder as she did so.

"It's strange..." she whispered. "I don't think Mother would be upset with me if she knew I'd destroyed it in favor of saving you. I think she'd understand." She pulled the broken flowers to her chest and shed a few more tears. "The magics that resided within it are gone now. The flowers will die..." Here, she blinked her sky-blue eyes open once more and turned them on Blake. "But _you_ shall live."

Blake felt as though she'd just been blessed by words of prophecy. Weiss had given up her greatest and most precious treasure for Blake's sake. For the sake of a beast, one of the species the fairies had been on the brink of war with for many seasons now.

That left only one question in Blake's mind.

"Why...?"

She wasn't sure if she was expecting an answer or not. And she wasn't sure if Weiss could give her one.

Slowly, Blake reached forward, extending her hand toward Weiss. She curled her fingers and gently brushed the backs of her knuckles over the girl's cheeks, catching her tears and clearing them away. Weiss closed her eyes and leaned into the touch, her pale skin and shimmering hair highlighted silver in the moonlight.

"I'm not sure..." she confessed.

Blake pulled her in once more, and Weiss didn't resist her.

"Neither am I," she murmured. "But I'm... not sure if we _have_ to be..."

With a motion as effortless as drawing breath, she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to Weiss' temple.

With a sigh, the fairy tucked her face into the side of Blake's neck and rested her head.

Blake stroked her fingers through the river of white hair, gingerly tracing the outlines of Weiss' wings, the most delicate part of her body. Weiss had never let anyone else but her mother touch them before.

Weiss hugged the beast girl's torso, feeling a familiar tail coiling protectively around her waist.

Again, they remained still, like statues of two star-crossed lovers engraved eternally in a display of affection they could never reveal to the rest of the world. The sounds of the night enveloped them – the chirps of the crickets in the surrounding bushes, the songs of the frogs in the distant river, and the rush of the air on the wind.

Their moment was so fragile, so fleeting, it was almost ethereal, like it could dissipate any second now.

Though, when both girls considered it, they wanted it to remain for longer than they cared to think about.

Each passing heartbeat was a second closer to the end of their embrace, just as it was also another precious second to remember.

But like the night itself inevitably would, their moment came to an end.

The silence was interrupted by a patter of paw-steps crashing through the bushes. Weiss and Blake parted and looked up to find two familiar figures rushing toward them.

"Hey!" Yang called out, skidding to a halt. "You guys okay?"

Weiss took a moment to wipe her arm over her eyes while Blake replied.

"More or less. What about you two?"

"We're fine!" Ruby reassured. "But now that they're gone we should find somewhere to spend the rest of the night."

"You're right."

Blake drew away from Weiss for the moment to find her balance. Her legs still shook a little bit, but the healed wounds did wonders for her now.

Once she was one her feet, she collected the two weapons she'd used to fight off the wolves and slipped them back into the small holster tied around her thigh.

At last, she returned to Weiss and offered both hands.

The fairy accepted without protest as Blake pulled her to her feet. The little flowers that had once been her hair band were still cradled in her palm, and Weiss slipped them into the sash around her waist. She hoped that rejuvenating them with a bit of magic once she returned home might spare them.

She kept ahold of Blake's hand as they set out to seek shelter until morning. But after the harrowing experience they'd just had, none of them thought tree-climbing was the best of ideas.

They didn't end up having to look too far and decided to sleep in the thicket where the brambles and thorns would keep any other intruders at bay.

Yang offered to go in first. Her sturdy hide and thick pelt weren't affected by the thorns at all, and she cleared a path for the others to follow through. Ruby curled up beside her sister in a pile of fur, dragging over a few fallen leaves to form a makeshift bed of sorts.

Blake lowered herself not far away, clearing a space on the ground large enough to lay herself down on. She watched Weiss with observant eyes, easily able to discern the fairy's discomfort being surrounded by the very thorns that had nearly gotten her killed.

But Weiss eventually sat down, pulling her knees to her chest before burying her face in her dress. Blake perched herself up on one elbow and spoke softly to her.

"Are you cold?"

Weiss' body spoke for itself as a shiver shot through her.

"Usually... my blankets will keep me warm at night. The last two nights without them, my magics took over and worked to keep the cold at bay. But tonight..."

She had nothing.

Blake refused to let Weiss fall asleep cold and shivering.

"Come sleep by me," she offered, patting the space beside her.

Weiss gave her a tired look, but it wasn't wary or distrustful – not anymore. It was more uncertain than anything.

Just like Blake was, Weiss was scared to kindle whatever spark had ignited between them.

Whatever these feelings were, it surely wouldn't go over well when they got back home.

It would only cause them more pain.

Weiss knew as much, and Blake did too.

But right now, they weren't home. There was no one to judge them here, no one to persecute them.

So Weiss moved close and laid herself down facing Blake, curling herself into the beast girl's embrace.

Blake wasted no time in pulling her close, shielding Weiss from the breeze and sharing her own body warmth.

Neither spoke a word as they wrapped each other in their arms that night, shafts of moonlight slicing down to bathe them in broken pools of silver.

They stayed awake for as long as their enervated bodies would allow, straining to relish each warm moment, striving to remember what it felt like.

For they knew it wouldn't be long before they'd have to forget.

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 **A/N: Don't forget to remind Dash how amazing her AU is~ I happy I can write for it!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	12. Difficult Decisions

**A/N: I know Winter seems super OOC in this fic now that the canon is revealing more about her. Just roll with it and remember I wrote this many months in advance.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 12. Difficult Decisions

The Fairy King sat upon his armchair with his head buried in his hands.

Long, heavy sighs repeatedly tumbled past his cracked lips, filling his tree-carved home with regret and fear. His missing daughter's room was still vacant and untouched, as it had been since she'd left for a simple water patrol a few days prior.

The other fairies who had been in Weiss' group to retrieve water had told the King everything, how his daughter had valiantly stood up to the beasts who had ambushed them, how she'd bargained with them for the fairies' safety by jeopardizing her own, and how she'd succeeded in getting exactly what she wanted.

None of the fairies that had returned home had sustained a single scratch thanks to Weiss.

But now his daughter was being held captive by the beasts, and he knew they probably weren't being very hospitable to her. Was she scared? He liked to believe she was strong enough to fight off such fear, but he couldn't be certain.

He wondered if she'd been fed within the past two days, wondered if she'd slept at all.

With a groan, he shook his head and released another sigh.

Not a moment later, a gentle tapping sound came at the window. He looked up to see Winter drifting in, her bare feet landing on the wooden floors without a sound as she folded her wings. He tried to smile up at her, reminding himself he was thankful that she was unharmed.

"Winter. How goes the gathering?"

She kept her back straight and eyes forward, lips pursed and expression taut.

"All the fairies have gathered over half of our precious gems. They've brought out their medallions and jewelry that is infused with magics. Everyone is willing to trade them in exchange for Weiss' safe return."

The old king smiled sadly and lowered his gaze.

"My people are good at heart. They have kind souls. They're willing to give up the last of their magics for her, even though they all must know what this means."

Winter padded a bit closer to him. Despite her hard exterior and the front she was trying to put up, he knew her too well. He could see the anguish in her eyes no matter how adamantly she tried to conceal it. She was worried for her sister and for her people as well.

"We all know what it means," she said. "Once the beasts have all of our stones, they'll have the majority of our magics as well. They will be omnipotent in this forest. They will take over, and they'll probably enslave the fairies."

The king closed his eyes; he'd known and considered the outcome many times already in his mind, but hearing it said aloud made the reality all the harsher.

"I know that is most likely," he confessed. "But once we have your sister back, we can begin to retaliate. We'll form a plan to counterattack and fight back. We won't surrender our forests to these beasts. But we might have to put on the facade for a while, though."

Winter nodded glumly.

"But if... if we rebel against them and cause an uprising-"

"It will cause a war for sure," her father finished. "I know it will." He lifted his face, and his tired grey eyes met hers. "But aren't we already in one?"

Winter dipped her head and was silent. The king leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Please have everyone continue gathering their stones. Sunrise tomorrow is our deadline."

"Yes, father."

He listened to the quiet sounds of her moving away toward the window, then the rush of air that took her away.

A silence ensued, with nothing on the air but the distant songs of birds and the breath of the wind.

The king was still and listened, knowing this may be the last time he ever heard such tranquility in these woods.

* * *

. . .

Weiss' conscious trickled back to her, feeling spreading throughout her body in little prickles that chased away the numbness of slumber.

She didn't open her eyes just yet, but instead focused on something that hadn't been present the previous two mornings.

It was warm, and for a long moment she fooled herself into believing she was back at home, safely curled on her bed and tucked away beneath her favorite quilts.

Blake had woken a short while in advance of the sunrise, finding Weiss still in her arms. The bramble thicket had done its job in keeping them safe last night, at the very least.

Her eyes kept flicking over to Ruby and Yang, who were now beginning to stir, indicating this time of calm would soon be over.

Blake did her best to savor it for all it was worth. Her arms were looped around Weiss loosely, encircling her shoulders and the small of her back.

Blake had felt for herself several times before the strangeness of a fairy's weight, how it was never actually as much as the eye determined it should be. Even now, she was puzzled by just how delicate Weiss seemed, how soft she felt, how almost indistinguishable it was to feel her breathing.

Blake almost feared she'd be blown away if the wind ever picked up too much.

But she knew for herself that Weiss wasn't just some fragile, breakable little thing, even if her appearance might sometimes make her out to be so.

Weiss was a brave warrior and a skilled fighter, with incomparable wit. She'd devised the plan to lead Adam away from her innocent people within seconds, and had successfully ensured their safe return home at the potential cost of her own life.

She'd been half-drowned by the waterfall, thrown against boulders and weakened by physical injuries, and yet she'd valiantly defended herself and her territory against Blake before Weiss had known she posed no threat.

Weiss was a strong girl, fearless but not foolish. She thought with her mind and obeyed logic. But she also had her values, and listened to her heart when it truly mattered.

Blake reflected on last night, how Weiss had refused to tear herself free from the thorns if it meant destroying her mother's flowers. Weiss would have rather died with that piece of her mother still intact beside her rather than leave her mother's spirit behind.

So for Weiss to give up something so precious only when _Blake's_ life was in danger...

She knew what that meant, and she was scared to acknowledge it.

She knew what their elongated embraces, concerned glances, and firm holds on each others' hands meant. And she feared it was too late to go back, too late to step away and pretend it had never happened, or that it didn't exist.

Blake didn't know what would become of them when they got back home.

She blinked away the haze of her thoughts when Weiss stirred in her arms. A small whimper escaped her lips, and her brow became furrowed.

Gently, Blake reached out a hand to smooth the girl's bangs, running her fingers through Weiss' long, loose tresses to calm her.

Leaning forward, she nuzzled her nose against the fairy's neck and let out a small purr. It only rumbled louder when Weiss moved closer, the limp grip on Blake's hip tightening just a bit.

Blake didn't want to move. She didn't want this to end.

And neither did Weiss. She continued her guise of sleep, ignoring the sunrise as it tapped her back with its warm yellow fingers. Hearing the soft rumble in Blake's throat, Weiss couldn't stop herself from moving closer, pressing their stomachs together.

The vibrations of Blake's purr filled Weiss' chest, and she couldn't explain why, but it soothed her. Her head found Blake's shoulder, and it wasn't long before her ear found a pulse. Weiss listened for a while, committing the beat to memory. It felt just like her own – scared, determined, maybe even a little excited.

It was difficult to pull away, but at long last she did just that, stretching her arms a bit behind the beast girl's back and hiding a yawn into her own elbow.

Blake loosened her grip and let Weiss move as she needed to, realizing that their time to be silent and still together was over.

She was about to sit herself up and call out to Ruby and Yang to rouse them, but two piercing blue eyes stopped her, stealing her breath away before she could find it.

She watched as Weiss sat herself up on her knees, those azure pools clear and focused, concealing an ounce of fear, but painted mostly by resoluteness. She pulled on Blake's forearm to have her sit up as well, until they were face to face.

"Weiss..." Blake swallowed, not understanding why the girl was making such a serious expression. "What's-"

"Blake."

Her voice was firm, low, and decisive. It made Blake's ears perk in surprise, but swivel forward to listen better, giving Weiss her full attention.

The fairy's gaze dropped down for a second, then traveled back up over Blake's person. She sucked in a clipped breath, and then continued in a taut whisper.

"Blake... I know what's happening here. I know. I'm not a fool."

Blake flinched, and her ears and tail drooped a bit. She'd been hoping to just keep it all a secret, that if they each kept quiet about the obvious feelings blossoming between them that those feelings would eventually wither away and die.

But Weiss held true to her straightforwardness and was addressing this head-on, and she was making Blake do the same. The beast girl sighed, shaking her head a little, but ultimately returning her gaze to Weiss'.

"Weiss, I don't-"

"I don't know either," the princess murmured. "I don't know... how it happened or why, or what we have to do to stop it... Or why I don't _want_ to stop it..."

Blake felt a pang go through her heart, but as Weiss added the final statement, a trickle of hope soon followed it.

Weiss didn't want to cut this budding blossom, either.

Blake straightened her back and held Weiss' gaze as the fairy continued speaking.

"Since I've met you, Blake... I've learned so much. About you and your people, and about myself and mine. We may have wings, and you may have tails... but our hearts are the same."

She didn't waver as she said this. She didn't even blink. She was speaking from her very soul, and she wanted Blake to know as much.

And Blake understood. She'd known many of these things herself, but it had taken Weiss' addressing them to truly make her face the facts.

She found she was speechless in the face of Weiss' declarations. Blake could only nod her head and do her best to fight back the sting behind her eyes. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling, then cleared her throat.

"Weiss..."

"I've heard it, Blake," the fairy murmured. "You may not have said it in words, but I heard it in your heart. Mine says the same thing." She blinked once, and when here eyelids lifted again, the irises and pools of blue underneath seemed even more brilliant than before. "We can't ignore this, Blake. Nor can we deny it. It is here, and it is all too real."

Blake sniffed once, trying to keep her emotions in check to little avail.

"Weiss... I... How can we...?" She reached her arms out for Weiss, and the fairy didn't refuse her.

Blake was pulled in by soft hands, feeling small fingers threading through her hair and all down her back. Her head was tucked beneath Weiss' chin, and her ear pointedly pressed to the girl's collar. Weiss' heartbeat was fast and loud beneath, pounding with adrenaline and affection, much the same as Blake's.

Weiss was right. They were the same.

Blake listened for a moment as if to confirm it, clutching the fairy's waist to draw her closer.

"What can we do?" she whispered.

She heard Weiss' sharp intake of breath, but Blake didn't look up. Somewhere inside herself, she felt she'd already known Weiss' answer long before she gave it.

"You know... what we can do," the fairy breathed tautly. "Don't make me say it."

Blake swallowed down the lump working its way up her throat.

She knew the answer. They both did.

Returning to their homes as they were now – entangled in a star-crossed love between their species – would only cause chaos, disagreement, and anger amongst their warring peoples.

There was one surefire thing they could do to prevent that.

Weiss' unspoken suggestion had been tacked to the back of Blake's mind since she'd held Weiss in her arms last night.

They could run away.

They could turn away from the path that would lead them home and simply disappear.

They could forget about their people, their friends and their families, forget about the laws set in place, forget about the violence and the arguments.

They could run and be free together.

They could leave their old lives behind and start anew.

Neither of them would ever have dreamed to consider such a thing had their affections for one another been anything but genuine.

Blake didn't want to think about it, but each passing second was another beat of Weiss' distraught heartbeat in her ears. She pulled away to seek those familiar eyes, finding them reflecting her own, ridden with guilt and uncertainty.

They'd both gone so far as to consider throwing away everything they'd ever known for one another. Each girl trusted the other with her life. Each girl valued the other's life above her own.

This wasn't just a desperate display of affection they would've thrown at anyone who happened to stand beside them in such dire times.

This was real.

This was love.

Blake closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts. It was the sounds of soft sobbing that had her looking up again.

Weiss had a hand pressed to her mouth, both eyes brimming with tears that were promptly spilling over. Blake's stomach twisted, and she reached out to grasp Weiss' other hand in hers.

"We can't," she said quietly. "We can't and we both know it."

To her relief and regret, Weiss nodded in agreement.

They both loved one another. But they both knew that running away and leaving behind their problems wasn't going to fix them.

To run would be to admit cowardice and helplessness, and to leave their people to shed each others' blood for generations to come.

As strongly as they felt towards one another, they couldn't abandon their people.

Knowing that they weren't alone in their loyalties only strengthened their affections for one another. But they couldn't run away, and they both knew it.

At the very least, now they both knew they wouldn't have to feel so guilty for even having considered running; thinking about an action was not the same as committing it.

Considering it demonstrated how deeply they cared for one another, but failing to act on it demonstrated how deeply they cared for everyone else they refused to leave behind.

Weiss sighed, wiping the back of her hand over her cheeks. Blake ducked her face into her shoulder to clear her own eyes, then leaned forward, resting her forehead against Weiss'.

"Weiss... Once we get back home... we won't-"

"I know, Blake," she rasped. "I know."

They wouldn't be able to be together any longer.

Their short-lived romance would have to be severed indefinitely, lest the soiled blood between their peoples became even dirtier.

At best, they had one more day and one more night left to be together.

Blake hissed a curse under her breath, feeling as Weiss' shoulders slumped.

Their sacrifice would benefit their people. It had to.

Slowly, Blake leaned forward, brushing her nose against Weiss' cheek. She pressed her lips into a sweet, longing kiss over the soft, pale skin.

Weiss turned her face, holding a kiss of her own to Blake's hairline, over her temple, where her pulse beat underneath.

And then they parted, all too soon.

They helped one another wipe away the last of their tears. With heavy hearts, they steeled their resolve. Blake took Weiss' hands and got to her feet, and they stood together.

The beast girl roused their companions, and Ruby and Yang quickly got into position to lead them.

"The wolves set us back," Yang grunted. "They chased us in the opposite direction of where we need to go."

"We would've been there by now," Ruby added. "But now it'll take us another day..."

Weiss and Blake shared an uneasy glance, but there was only one thing they could do now.

"Then please lead us onward," Weiss requested.

Yang and Ruby both nodded, then took off past the brambles and into the forest.

Blake cleared a path for Weiss and herself to follow out of the thorns.

But once they were out of the thicket, Weiss paused in her steps. Her wings quivered in the breeze, her long, unbound hair tracing the path of the wind. She looked back over her shoulder, to the forest beyond, to the places she'd never been before-

-to the places she could _still_ go to, together with Blake...

But a hand soon enveloped hers and tugged her gently forward.

Weiss looked up into those pained golden eyes, knowing Blake felt her indecision just as strongly. The beast girl held the fairy's gaze for a moment, then guided her forward after Ruby and Yang.

"Come on," she murmured. "Let's go home."

Weiss nodded, and two more tears fell away to the forest floor to seep into the soil.

All they could do now was hold onto the other's hand that had become so familiar within such a short amount of time.

And they held on tightly, knowing it would be one of the last times.

* * *

 **A/N: A bit of a slow-paced chapter after a high-intensity one. Things are beginning to wind down and the final climax will soon be upon us!**

 **If you like my work, please support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	13. Blue And Purple Flowers

**For people who were confused about their outfits in this fic, just look on dashingicecream's tumblr tags to see her art!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 13. Blue And Purple Flowers

After scavenging to find another measly breakfast of berries and nuts, Ruby and Yang led their companions onward through the woods.

They were all on high alert after last night's wolf attack, jumping and growling at every misplaced sound they heard.

But the wolves never reappeared for them, nor did any other trouble. At least, not in the form of animals.

However, their next setback was in the form of the weather.

Whatever sunlight had blessed them earlier that morning had been a deceitful illusion, it seemed. Before noon came around, the forest turned grey beneath and overcast sky, and rain started to drizzle down not long afterward.

They hurried along through the forests, guided by Yang's confident declarations of "Don't sweat it! We'll still make it back by sunset at this rate."

Weiss and Blake kept hold of one another's hands for a while, occasionally stealing forlorn glances at one another. They only let go when the rain became a downpour.

Yang's and Ruby's fur was dyed darker and damper within seconds, and the bear was forced to constantly shake herself to try and keep as dry as possible while the squirrel hid beneath her own tail.

Blake was miserable in the rain, her once-thick hair now flat and streaked all down her back. The water weighed down the fur in her ears and tail, making them sag.

But despite her immense discomfort, she couldn't help worrying about Weiss even more.

The poor fairy was soaked to the bone within the blink of an eye, her white dress sticking to her slim form and making her appear to be even smaller than she truly was. Her loose hair was clinging to her back and arms, heavy with water. And her wings were seeping through with it, drooping down at the tips.

With so much water on her person, and her weight already so light, Weiss was being slowed down by the rain. It took much more effort to walk than it should have, and simply following after Ruby's waterlogged tail was exhausting for her now.

Blake's chest tightened at the sight of her like this, dragging her bare feet through the sucking mud, arms crossed over her chest as she shivered.

Normally, Blake knew Weiss would've had magics to fend off the cold or even to form a thin barrier around herself to keep the rain away. But as she was now, Weiss was defenseless against the elements.

Since she'd never been in such a situation before – or at least not to such an extent – she'd probably never felt rain or cold like this before in her life.

Blake could tell the fairy was doing her best to conceal her discomfort, but it wasn't long before the girl's teeth started chattering.

Without a word, Blake slid an arm around her and pulled Weiss to her side in an effort to share some of her body heat. It seemed to work for a few minutes, but ultimately, Weiss was shivering again.

That was when Blake got an idea of sorts. Quietly, she mumbled a soft apology to Weiss and slipped away from her.

"You walk ahead for now," Blake insisted. "I'll keep to the rear."

Weiss looked back over her shoulder and nodded, then continued the trek onward.

Blake simply did what her people often did if they were caught in the forest during a rainstorm. As she walked, she began picking off the biggest leaves of the nearby bushes and plants, then used the stems to weave them together.

It took a few minutes, and the resulting water-shield didn't look as good as it might've if she'd had the time to sit down and construct it properly, but she liked to think it would suffice.

Once finished, she reached out to tap Weiss' shoulder and handed her the cluster of leaves.

"It's not much," Blake said. "But you can hold it above your head and it'll keep you at least a little bit dry."

With a surprised, yet touched expression, Weiss accepted the leaves and covered her head with them. Right away, she felt less and less water dripping down onto her body.

"It works very well," she commented. "Thank you, Blake. But what about you? Can you fit in beside me?"

The beast girl smiled and shook her head.

"Sorry. If I'd made it any bigger it would've collapsed on itself. I can make one for myself, but you keep that one, okay?"

Weiss was clearly a little upset that she couldn't share the shelter with Blake, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Alright. Thank you," she murmured again. She stepped back a few paces until she was beside Blake, then strained up onto her tip-toes to kiss the girl's cheek in gratitude.

Blake felt the heat creep up into her cheeks, but as quickly as Weiss' lips had been there, they vanished. Weiss turned around and followed after Ruby and Yang, now with the shield of leaves protecting her from the rainfall.

Blake kept to her spot at the back of the group, still proud to be able to walk there, since it meant Weiss was trusting her with her back. The beast girl easily could have made another water-shield for herself, but she had something else in mind entirely.

As their little group continued their journey, Blake kept herself vigilant for any signs of potential danger. But once she was certain there was nothing amiss in the current area, she focused her attention more on the plants growing in those parts of the forest.

She gathered a small collection of plant stems and flowers in her palms, some white, some purple, and even some blue. She was skilled enough in the flower-crafting field to be able to work without looking down at her hands, keeping her gaze ahead as she walked.

Once noon had passed, the rain began to slow, until at long last the storm moved on. Blake had just finished her craft and tucked it into her pocket when an exasperated sigh came from up ahead.

" _Finally!_ " Ruby whined. "I thought that rain was _never_ gonna end!"

"Hey, count your lucky stars that it wasn't a thunderstorm!" Yang teased. "When that happens, you're always too petrified to move. Gotta find you a tree to huddle up in-"

"Yang, shut uuup!"

Their sisterly squabbling had Blake's lips twitching up into an amused smile, and she even heard a small giggle from Weiss. Her ears swiveled to pick up on the sound better – Blake hadn't heard her laugh like that before, so innocent and carefree.

But a heartbeat later it was over, almost like it had never existed.

Weiss turned around to face her, smile wavering sadly.

"Thank you for this, Blake," she said again, motioning to the leaves above her head. "I feel bad to dispose of it..."

"It's fine," Blake reassured her. "Here." She offered out her hand, and Weiss passed the shield into it. Blake scurried off their path for a moment in order to place the leaf covering securely between two small bushes. She returned to Weiss a moment later. "There. Now the next time it rains, some animals can use it for shelter."

Her words elicited another smile from Weiss, and Blake felt her heart thump a little faster.

Weiss reached out her hand and took Blake's with it, and they continued onward side by side once again.

"We really were wrong about you," Weiss mumbled. "Every last one of us. Your people aren't savages at all."

Blake grunted.

"But I can understand why you might think we were. _Some_ of us, anyway..."

Her thoughts went back to Adam, and she knew Weiss' did as well. She had to wonder where he was right now, what he was doing.

 _Probably bragging to the entire clan about how he harassed and cornered the Fairy Princess..._ she thought.

In the past few days, so much had been happening to Blake directly that she'd only had the time and energy to focus on Weiss and their journey home. But now that she was thinking about it, she hadn't stopped much to consider what her clan or the fairies might be doing right now.

 _My father's probably sent out search parties to look for me by now. And I bet the fairies have done the same for Weiss. So... why haven't we encountered any of them yet? We're close enough to our home forest by now. Surely their search parties would've covered acres beyond here by now, especially if they were trying to bring home the princess of the fairies? So why is no one out looking for us...?_

Her thoughts strayed into a swirl of questions.

Weiss noticed how Blake's expression had suddenly grown more serious, and the beast girl's grip on her hand tightened until Blake's nails were digging into the back of Weiss' hand. Flinching, the fairy stopped walking and turned all of her attention to the dark-haired girl.

"Blake? Blake, what's the matter?"

When Weiss brought her to a stop, Blake seemed to snap out of her trance a little. She realized her nails had sunk into Weiss' skin and quickly loosened her grip.

"I'm sorry." She lifted Weiss' hand to her lips and kissed it softly.

Weiss reached up to tuck a few locks of damp, black hair over Blake's shoulder.

"It's alright. Just tell me what's wrong."

Blake was silent for a moment, her eyes flicking from Weiss to the forest and back again.

"It's just... I think it's a bit odd. We're not far from the river now, and I can even hear the waterfall from here," she said, flicking an ear. "We're pretty close to where you fell. So why haven't we seen any other fairies out here looking for you?"

Weiss' silence told Blake that the princess hadn't considered that either until now.

Puzzled, Weiss looked around for herself, as if to confirm that no one was out here searching for her.

Blake's stomach knotted to think of a certain possibility, and clearly that was exactly where Weiss' mind had gone to as well.

The two of them had discussed it briefly once before, a few days back. But since then, so much had happened to keep their minds off of what might've been happening back at their home bases.

It was only too easy now to remember the awful possibilities of what could have been happening right now as they spoke.

"They... the group I was collecting water with probably told my father that boy with the horns led me away. I don't think they would've known he drove me all the way to the edge of that cliff out here. My people wouldn't know. To them... they must think your people still have me captive... right?"

A shiver shot up Blake's spine, and she could feel Weiss' hands beginning to tremble in hers now.

"But..." she gulped. "You fell over the edge. Adam probably thinks you're... dead. But if the fairies think you're alive and being held hostage-" As the realization struck them, both girls gasped. Weiss took a step back, slipping free of Blake's grasp.

"W-We've got to get back," she stammered. "Blake, if we don't get back soon, something awful is going to happen-"

"Weiss, hold on-" Blake reached out for the petrified girl, grasping her wrists with gentle fingers. She could tell how drained Weiss was right now, both physically and mentally. The trek through the forest on top of the rain, and all of that directly after a night of being chased by wolves...

Weiss had only eaten a few berries all day, and she'd drank rainwater from the tops of leaves. Her magics were depleted, her wings were sore deadweight on her back, and her face was beginning to look flushed, and certainly this panic wasn't going to do her any good. There was fear in her eyes again, and Blake hated to see it.

"Weiss..." With a soft tug, Blake pulled her in, enveloping her in an embrace as soothing as she could manage. "We'll get there. We're almost home." It felt strangely nice to be saying "we", almost as though they wouldn't have to separate once they got back. Blake rested her chin atop Weiss' head, already feeling the fairy's shuddering shoulders, listening to the whimpers muffled against her chest. Blake let out a choppy purr for Weiss. "We're going to get home before anything happens-"

"But what if something's _already_ happened?!" Weiss wailed. "What if our people are already at war? What if hundreds have already been slaughtered because of me?!"

"Weiss-!" Blake couldn't stop the girl from collapsing to her knees. The beast girl followed, curling herself around Weiss protectively. She wanted to comfort her. But Blake knew she couldn't deny the possibility of Weiss' fears. She knew all too well that a war may have already taken place atop that cliff. She was nauseous to think about it, but she couldn't refute Weiss' theory.

"Weiss, listen to me," she begged. "None of this is your fault. It's Adam's. When you tricked him and led him away, it was because you were doing what any princess would. You were only trying to keep your people safe."

"Yes..." Weiss sobbed. "But now I've put them all in grave danger. They could be dead-" Her breath hitched and she ended up coughing.

Blake whimpered and patted the girl's back, rubbing her palms in small circles at the bases of Weiss' wings. She looked up to see Ruby and Yang huddled a short distance away, ears and tails drooping, eyes wide and scared. They knew something was horribly wrong, but kept quiet. Blake met their gazes as she continued speaking to Weiss.

"We're exhausted. We're hungry. We need to rest. I know it's not even dusk yet, but if we want to climb that mountain by tomorrow, we're going to need to regain our strength. Let's rest for now." She leaned forward, pressing her nose to Weiss' ear, then kissing her cheek. " _Please_..."

Weiss exhaled shakily, swallowing past more of the tears. She buried her face in her shoulder for a moment and wiped her eyes.

"Only for now," she mumbled. "But we must wake at sunset and travel in the night."

Blake's ears flattened and her tail lashed nervously.

"Weiss, it's dangerous."

"Blake." Her voice was stern and left no room for argument. Weiss pulled back and glared fiercely up into Blake's eyes. "Our _people_ are in danger. We must be over that mountain before sunrise."

Blake inhaled slowly, then bowed her head.

"You're right. We'll travel by night, then."

Weiss nodded and leaned forward to hug her once more.

"Thank you."

With their decisions made, Blake cast a glance to their companions. Ruby and Yang seemed to agree on everything, but they said nothing to interrupt. The two sisters merely curled up together where they were and tried to rest before nightfall.

Blake knew she and Weiss needed to do the same.

Gingerly, she moved Weiss back a few inches, so Blake may see her face once more. She wiped the tears away for a moment, putting kisses in their place, curling her tail around Weiss' waist to keep her close. Her hand pressed to the small of Weiss' back, but a slight movement of her fingers had the girl flinching. Blake froze, her lips frowning.

"Your wings are still in pain?"

Weiss grimaced.

"They're still sore, and the rain weakened them even more. I think it's a combination of things. Not only the fatigue, but also a lack of magic," she discerned. "These past few days, I've been in foreign territory where fairies don't dwell. There was no magic in those parts of the forest. But once I get back home, the air and trees will have magic in them, and I... I _should_ be able to fly again after I let my wings heal a bit."

Blake saw the sense in her words, and it made her feel a little better.

"That's good. I was getting really worried..." She fidgeted a bit where she sat.

Weiss pressed closer into Blake's lap and kissed her wet, black nose.

"And _thank you_ for worrying, Blake."

Blake couldn't help but smile a little bashfully.

For a moment, she kept Weiss in her arms, threading her fingers through the fairy's long, silver tresses.

It was then she remembered the little craft she'd made earlier. She slipped a hand into her shorts pocket and extracted the little trinket, but kept it at her side for the moment, out of Weiss' view. Blake was careful with her next choice of words.

"Weiss... do you still have those flowers... your mother gave you...?"

The fairy was still for a moment, confused at the sudden question. She sent Blake a curious glance, but it wasn't distrustful at all.

"Yes." She reached into the sash on her waist and carefully extracted the tiny white flowers that had once been a part of her beloved hair band.

Blake gathered her resolve and held Weiss' gaze.

"May I see them?"

Weiss hesitated. Despite her claims of how much she trusted Blake now, and how much she clearly cared for her, she was uncertain about letting go of the last parts of her mother she had left.

Blake waited for the response, ready to respect it, whatever it was.

Weiss inhaled slowly, and though the exhale shook a little, she nodded.

"Just please..." she said. "Be careful."

Blake smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Of course."

She opened her free palm toward Weiss.

Slowly, the fairy deposited the precious flowers into her hand. Blake didn't clench her fingers over them or touch them any more than she needed to. She revealed the little string of flowers and stems she'd been working on, woven through with purples and blues.

Weiss was speechless at the sight of it, and watched in baffled silence as Blake gently added her mother's flowers into the mix.

It took a few minutes, but she didn't displace a single petal.

The end result was a brand new hair band, skillfully constructed and secure. It was decorated now by the flowers Weiss' mother had given her, as well as the flowers Blake herself had added in.

The beast girl admired her own work for a moment before presenting it to Weiss.

"Here. Please take it, Weiss."

She used her free hand to take the fairy's and slowly uncurled Weiss' fingers. Blake transferred the little hair band into her palm.

Weiss was nearly breathless as she stared at it, marveling at how meticulously it had been crafted.

"Blue..." she gasped. "Blue... flowers? I've never... I've never seen them before. I didn't think they existed... Up in the treetops... we don't get to see very many flowers anymore..."

Blake felt a small pang go through her chest. She realized that since her people had started taking residence in the forests, that some of them - like Adam's group - had more or less terrorized the fairies into being prisoners high up in the trees. Aside from when they went to fetch water from the river, Blake had never really seen a fairy so up close until she'd met Weiss.

And Weiss hadn't seen flowers in a very long time.

Blake was both sad and guilty to think about it.

But when she saw how Weiss' eyes lit up like stars in the night sky, she found herself smiling once again.

"Do you like it?"

Weiss nodded her head instantly.

"Blake, it's beautiful! I love it. I really..." Though her lips smiled, they soon trembled as a familiar warm wetness started dripping down her face.

Blake purred gently and affectionately bumped their foreheads together.

"I'm glad."

Weiss cupped her hands around the flowery accessory, then brought it up to her chest.

"Once all of this is over... once I get back home and get my magic back... the first thing I'm going to use it on will be this. I want to preserve it forever."

Blake's purr only grew louder in knowing Weiss would treasure this little piece of her.

The fairy didn't move for a moment, and simply continued to savor the feeling and sound of Blake's purr.

Then, she moved back a little and took Blake's hand. She rolled the little hair band back into Blake's possession, then turned around to face away from her.

"Would you tie it for me?"

With a nod, Blake slipped the band around her wrist for the moment. She gathered all of Weiss' loose, wet hair, combing through the silver strands with careful fingers. She smoothed it out a little, making it as neat as possible.

Weiss closed her eyes, enjoying the tender feeling of Blake's touch and savoring the song of her purr.

Blake was exceedingly careful with Weiss' hair, knowing the last beast who'd touched her there had ripped it. She didn't think Weiss let _anyone_ touch her hair, so she felt very privileged.

Once she'd gathered it all neatly, she slipped the hair band into place, looping it several times until everything was secure.

Weiss sensed she was finished, then turned back to face her.

"Thank you."

Blake smiled and shook her head.

"Don't thank me. It was my pleasure."

"Not just... for the hair band," Weiss murmured. "For everything, Blake. You've... done so much for me. Things I can't even begin to explain." She moved forward once more, wrapping her arms around Blake's shoulders and closing the distance between them.

Blake returned the embrace, being mindful of Weiss' wings.

"You've done just as much for me, Weiss."

The daylight was beginning to fade, leaving the dripping green forest to lose its color. Grey overtook all else, and dusk was nearing.

They both knew they would need to rest so that they may start traveling again by moonlight.

They waited just a few moments, pressed close together until they could feel their heartbeats overlapping. Blake's soft purr persisted, spreading warmth throughout Weiss' body.

This would be their last evening to have this. To have each other.

Blake didn't question herself when she pulled away slightly. She didn't think about the consequences or the pain her actions would bring. She lifted a hand to the side of Weiss' face, tilted her chin, closed her eyes, and leaned in.

And Weiss kissed her back, breathing clumsily against her mouth in a way Blake wouldn't have expected from a princess. It was nervous and excited and scared all at the same time, but it was genuine.

Blake was just as fearful, but right now, neither seemed to care.

They didn't know exactly what tomorrow would hold in store for them, but they knew there would be pain – it was just a matter of how much they could handle.

But at least for now, they could have this.

Their lips came apart, only to be drawn back together a second later, breaths entwining and lips pushing gently, seeking more than what was given.

Each requested, and each obliged, silently conveying what words would never permit them to.

No one else had to know.

They would be the only two.

If there really was going to be a war, only they would know of this moment.

Even years from now, if they made it through this, when they were both in their respective homes with their families, only Weiss and Blake would ever remember this moment.

They just wished they wouldn't have to regret it.

Their souls cried out to maintain this above all else, but they had already made their choices.

At last they parted, silently breathless. Tears coated each of their faces, warm and painful, their hearts breaking a little more with every beat.

Blake laid them both down, keeping Weiss tightly in her arms.

Weiss didn't let her go either – defiant, despite her own decision.

They had both decided to do this – to let themselves love the other, only to leave her behind with the next sunrise.

But they both knew that even when they had been separated, neither would ever forget.

Silver twilight swept over them, and soft sobs were soon drowned out by the songs of the night.

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 **A/N: I like the idea of Weiss not having seen flowers in so long, only for Blake to give them to her. I believe it was mentioned earlier on that blue and purple flowers only grow on the ground, so such colors in flowers would be foreign to the tree-dwelling fairies.**

 **Next chapter begins the suspense, race against the night to get home before sunrise!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	14. Whispering Wings

**Since I decided to change the old title of the whole fic, here it appears as the title chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 14. Whispering Wings

The Fairy King was roused from a restless slumber in his chair by a tap on his shoulder.

He opened his eyes to find Winter peering down at him, her dark blue eyes firm and conflicted.

"Father. The fairies have finished collecting all of their gems."

As he looked around the interior of the tree, he could tell by the lighting that it was already nighttime.

On their last night.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself up to his feet and smoothed out his robes.

"Then we need to leave," he concluded. "The beasts will be waiting for us by the river to make the trade for your sister."

At the mention of Weiss, Winter's countenance flinched.

"Father... do you think she is unharmed?"

The old fairy didn't give a direct answer.

"I told them to keep her safe..."

Hearing that seemed to make her feel a little better. She led her father over to the window carved in the tree, and together they prepared their wings.

Winter led the way out into the night air, and her father promptly followed, trailing a shimmering bout of fairy dust behind them.

"Father?" she said softly, looking over her shoulder as they flitted through the treetops. "After we complete this negotiation... We'll have Weiss back. But what of the rest of us?" she wondered. "We'll be giving away our gems. Much of our magics are in those stones. Of course there is magic in the woods themselves and in our souls, but the stones are what regenerate us. We soon will lose our abilities to fly. With their powers... the beasts can control the forests. And us," she reminded him.

Her father flew on solemnly behind her, his expression hard.

"I know of the risks," he uttered. "But this way, at least all of our people will be unharmed. I cannot risk denying the beasts their deal and endangering your sister's life. If we do not heed to their demands, they could kill her."

Winter shuddered, unable to bear thinking about what the savage beasts were capable of with her dainty sister.

"She must be so scared..."

Her father flew up beside her and nodded.

"And that is why we must do this tonight and get her back home, no matter the cost."

As he finished speaking, the two of them emerged from a cluster of branches and leaves.

Before them, the air was aglow with fairy dust, the breeze lighted with tiny, sparkling particles that drifted down on the wind, sprinkling the forest far below.

All of the able fairies had gathered together here to wait for their King. They all looked up to greet him, bowing their heads low.

They all wore the same solemn expression, and carried similar pouches that clanked with precious stones. There was no doubt in the King's mind that most of them had saved a few stones at their homes, like special jewelry or mementos. But he knew that well over three-fourths of every fairy stone in his peoples' possession was here right now.

The weary king swept his gaze around them all, several dozen fairies of all sexes, all in their prime. Along with the bags of stones, they also carried weapons in the sashes of their clothes or over their shoulders.

The King nodded approvingly to them all, then gathered his voice to speak.

"Fairies of my kingdom," he began. "Tonight, we embark on a potentially-perilous endeavor to convene with the beasts. We shall be meeting their demands by surrendering our gems, but this does not mean we are surrendering our freedom or our authority to them. Once my daughter is safely back with us, we will begin discussing counter-measures immediately."

His eyes narrowed as he went on. "I have asked you all to bring your weapons of choice with you tonight in case things take an unfavorable turn. I do not want us to fight the beasts, nor them to fight us. But should something happen, I will not refuse combat with these savages.

"Even so, your top priority – should a fight break out – will be not to engage, but to flee. I want as little fairy blood to be shed here tonight as possible. Take care of yourselves and those you hold dear."

He hovered in place, seeing that the rest of the fairies were all nodding in comprehension.

"We are not doing this tonight for bloodshed. We are doing it for peace. But do not let your guards down for even a second amongst the beasts."

There was a collective answer from the gathered fairies of "Yes, sir!" Those who had been sitting on branches as they waited finally took flight, and together, the band of nearly fifty of the fairy kingdom's strongest and most nimble people prepared to descend.

The King cast his gaze around them once more, then ended it on his only daughter present. Winter put a hand to her hip to reveal a small sword, nodding encouragement to him. With a sigh, the old fairy gave the command to those gathered.

"Very well. Now let us go fetch your princess."

* * *

When the moon rose, Blake rose with it.

She had kept her senses on high alert as their group had rested that evening, knowing they would need to be up and moving now, even under cover of night. She was anxious about traveling like this, but knew it was necessary if she and Weiss wanted to prevent a war between their species.

They had fallen asleep on a wet patch of grass, trying their best to avoid mud after the rainstorm.

As she looked down, Blake found Weiss still sleeping in her arms, her breathing soft and even. Blake's heart thudded, little throbs of pain shooting through her chest as she admired the girl she could never have.

This would be the last time she could ever see Weiss sleeping like this.

With a forlorn whimper, she leaned down to kiss the fairy's forehead longingly.

The soft action roused Weiss, causing her to stir as her long eyelashes fluttered open, revealing two familiar pools of blue that reflected the faint moonlight cast down through the canopy.

When Blake looked closely, she could still make out the faint trail marks of tears down those soft white cheeks. She felt the arms around her waist tighten almost defiantly, and Blake returned the embrace, ducking her head into Weiss' shoulder.

It lasted only a moment longer.

Then, the Fairy Princess pulled away, her eyes focused and tone unwavering.

"Let's get going."

Blake fished up some of her own resolve and nodded in agreement.

Together, they helped one another stand, dusting off clothes and brushing fingers over skin to clear it of mud streaks or water.

The forest was swept through by loud cricket songs, each tune different from the last. The trees were still dripping from the day's rain, each drop of water catching in the purple moonlight, making for a dazzling display of faint lights all around them. Every bush was glowing, every blade of grass shimmering.

They each took a moment to appreciate the sight, like millions of oddly-colored fireflies settling around them. They walked together over to where Ruby and Yang had curled up, and Weiss gently prodded them both as Blake spoke.

"It's time to go, you guys."

The bear and squirrel opened their eyes, then yawned as they rolled around and stretched.

"Right, right, we're up!" Yang grumbled. "Did you two rest up? We're not far now."

Blake looked to Weiss curiously for her answer, and the princess nodded.

"We slept fine," she decided.

Yang looked up at her and blinked slowly, and Blake could tell she was choosing her next words carefully.

"What about your wings?"

Weiss didn't flinch this time, but her response was hollow.

"That doesn't matter. We're climbing the cliff side, after all, are we not?" She turned away, revealing her wings. Blake could tell they were still limp and grey – there was no magic in them.

Ruby and Yang both looked concerned, but Blake quickly shook her head at them. With a grunt, Yang cleared her throat.

"Okay. Let's head out, then."

"Keep on extra alert," Ruby warned. "Who knows what kind of things are out and about at this hour..."

Blake and Weiss shared a wary glance and nodded.

With that, the odd group set out together for what would be the last time.

Yang led the way, her night vision almost as good as Blake's. Ruby rode on her sister's back, ears perked tall to listen to the forest.

Blake tried to keep to the back of the group to ensure Weiss was safe in the center. But when she realized this would be their last time walking together, the beast girl quickened her pace until she'd taken the fairy's hand in hers and walked on beside her.

The sounds of the river had been in the back of their minds for a while throughout their journey, but as they continued forward now, the sounds grew louder than before. Blake knew they were nearing the spot where Weiss had fallen over the edge.

There was a pool farther down, the place where the four of them had bathed and played together in the earliest day of their journey.

That had been the first time Blake had seen Weiss smile.

Though it was shallower and would have been easier to cross there, it was too far away now.

Here, the cliff rose up ahead of them, dwarfing the size of even the most enormous of trees. The water that crashed down from the falls was loud, creating a constant roar in the backs of their minds.

It was like the sounds of a thousand heavy rainstorms all at once, collected in one spot, all the power and fury of such a great amount of water collected with it. Mist shrouded the forest here, and as they approached the waterfall, Blake felt more and more precipitation in the air.

Surely, even if Weiss' wings had been working properly now, the water in the air would prevent her from flying anyway.

A few moments later, the waterfall came into view.

It was a massive structure, spilling over with thundering forces of water, spraying mist higher than the forest itself. The sounds drowned out even the loudest of cricket songs, and the air here was white and wet.

The moonlight was majorly unobstructed here, due to the lack of trees growing so closely to the water. The purple moonlight reflected off the currents, highlighting several silver rocks jutting up above the surface. Starlight was brimming atop the little waves and seemed to float all around them.

It was truthfully a breathtaking sight.

Had circumstances been any different, Blake would've tugged on Weiss' hand and taken her on a midnight walk along the shores, absorbing the scenery and marveling at the beauty of it all.

Even now, as the princess stood beside her, Blake couldn't help but stare at the way Weiss' hair almost glowed, her white dress fluttering in the breeze, her skin painted with bits of perspiration to make it shine.

Meanwhile, Blake felt her own hair and fur begin to friz, and she shook herself a little bit. Weiss looked up at her curiously, then failed to stifle a chuckle at the sight of Blake's poofing tail. The beast girl pouted and looked away, though she kept a firm hold on Weiss' hand.

Once they'd neared the river's edge, Yang brought the group to a halt.

"Yeah, so... I think your guys' territories are on the other side. The best way to cross over from here is to use the rocks. But the water's a bit wild, so you gotta be careful."

"But we're pros at this!" Ruby declared, sitting up between the bear's shoulders and puffing out her chest. "We'll go first and show ya how it's done!"

"Right! Make a line behind me!"

Yang turned to face the water and waggled her haunches, and though Ruby was only a passenger, she did the same.

Both Weiss and Blake were a bit concerned that such a burly bear cub could make such a leap over the water.

But Yang surprised them by clearing the first jump from the bank to the nearest boulder. Her claws scraped against the rock until she found her balance, then she readied herself for the next one. Ruby cheered her on from her spot on Yang's back, directing her on which rock to aim for next.

At some points, the rocks were close together and Yang didn't need to jump at all. But a few times, the rocks were a bit far, and her back legs ended up slipping off into the rushing water.

But her determination to keep Ruby safe drove Yang, and she hauled herself up every time, making sure Ruby was kept as dry as possible throughout the ordeal. The squirrel clung tightly to the bear's fur, occasionally swishing her fluffy tail over Yang's face to clear the water from her eyes.

They continued onward, and Weiss and Blake watched from the shore opposite from where they were headed.

Then, with one final jump and a grunt of effort, Yang threw herself onto the wet grass on the other side. Panting, she rolled onto her side as Ruby scrambled off.

"We did it!" she cheered. "You're awesome, Yang!"

The bear chuckled as she pushed herself up.

"Heh. I know."

Ruby wrapped her little arms around Yang's neck in a hug.

Then the two sisters turned back to the river and the girls on the other side.

"Come on!" Yang called out. "It should be easier for you guys! You have longer legs!"

Weiss was alerted by her words, realizing it was her turn to go across.

"But it would be much more preferable to fly..." she wheezed.

Just in case, she made an effort to move her wings, but was met with only unresponsive numbness. With a sigh, she looked down at her bare toes in the mud, just inches from the rushing water. Her heart was pounding as she remembered the traumatizing experience she'd had the last time she'd been here.

There was no doubt in her mind that being thrown against the rocks and nearly drowning at that time were now factors as to why her wings weren't working. Her heart was too shrouded by fear and doubt, and it wouldn't allow her to fly.

But before she could take another step forward, she was halted by a tug on her hand. Ensnared in her fear, she'd almost forgotten that Blake was beside her.

Weiss looked up into those calm golden eyes and felt the tightness in her chest uncurl, just a little bit. The suffocating dread lessened as Blake reminded her how to breathe.

"It's okay," Blake said. "I'll be with you. We'll be fine."

Weiss swallowed and tried to take a steadying breath. Her grip on Blake's hand was tight enough to have her nails start to sink in, whilst Blake's longer, sharper nails were so gentle on Weiss' own skin.

With Blake supporting her, Weiss nodded and straightened her back.

"Let's go."

She squared her shoulders and turned toward the water.

But just before she could move forward, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on," Blake murmured. "Come here..."

She turned Weiss a little, so Blake may press her lips to the crease in her brow. Weiss closed her eyes, taking comfort in the kiss, but Blake pulled away before Weiss could return it.

The fairy felt as Blake's hand left hers, and looked up to see her back, tail swishing.

"I'll go first and help you across each one," she said. "My tail will keep me balanced better, but your wings might throw you off. So try and keep close to me whenever possible."

Weiss reached out to brush her fingertips against Blake's arm.

"I will."

With that, Blake started forward.

Weiss held still for the moment, watching the beast girl judge the distance between herself and the first rock. She made the leap easily, well-balanced by her tail and her crouched stance.

The rock wasn't big enough to hold both Weiss and herself at the same time, however, so Blake had no choice but to move onto the next one before she turned back and called out to her.

"Alright, go ahead. Just take your time."

Weiss knew Blake had said this so she wouldn't feel rushed and end up slipping. But Weiss knew they had no more time to spare.

She inhaled deeply, bending her knees as she gathered her strength. She jumped, the bottom of her feet soon hitting the hard surface of rock, and she struggled to keep her balance.

It was true what Yang had said about them having longer legs – it was a bit easier for Weiss and Blake to make these jumps. But they stood much taller than a bear cub, and their height was a clear disadvantage here in the act of landing.

Once Weiss was steady, she looked up toward Blake to find the girl waving her over. The next few rocks were close by, and Blake was waiting for her.

Weiss made another leap, and the pain in her feet from scraping the rocks was soon washed away as a gentle hand reached for hers. Familiar fingers clasped around hers, and Blake pulled Weiss to her feet until she could stand on her own.

"You're doing great," Blake praised her. "Just keep this up and we'll be across in no time."

Blake released Weiss' hand and made the next jump neatly, and Weiss soon followed.

Gradually, the two made their way across the rushing river. Visibility was limited for Weiss due to the thick mist, so Blake was sure to guide her with words when she couldn't use her hands.

But whenever they were close enough, they would reach out for one another, both using the other's weight to balance herself out as well. Weiss didn't weigh much, but it was just enough to help Blake get her bearings once her tail started to get too wet.

Soon, their last few leaps were ahead of them.

The next rock was rather sizable, and Blake sprung forward, lashing her tail in midair to keep her course steady. She landed with ease, then turned back for Weiss.

The fairy copied Blake's stance perfectly, looking more like a ground-dweller than a tree-dweller by now. Blake readied herself to brace Weiss' landing.

The fairy took a moment to assess the jump, then kicked off.

It was the closest to flying she'd been in days.

But her heels collided with the rock, and she gasped. One of her feet slipped on the wetness, causing her weight to shift forward.

"Whoa, easy!" Blake tried to push Weiss back onto the rock. As she was focused on Weiss, the tip of her tail grazed the water below.

Instantly, the rapids tugged at her, and combined with having Weiss bump against her, it all resulted in Blake losing her footing. With a yelp of fear, she was bowled over backward, her feet and legs instantly submerged as the water began to drag her down.

It happened more quickly than Blake could register, and as her ribs slammed against the side of the rock, she lost her breath.

" _Ahgh_ -!"

She scraped her nails against the rock, but the current was too strong. Her fingers slipped away one by one.

But Weiss was faster than even the water. She dropped down onto her stomach and grabbed both of Blake's wrists, digging her nails in.

"Blake!" she gasped. "H-Hold on!"

She could hear Ruby and Yang calling out to them in a fright, but couldn't discern what they were saying.

Blake was struggling for breath, the rapid water splashing in her face and occasionally pulling her under. Weiss' muscles strained to pull her back up every time.

Blake coughed, spewing out river water and shaking her head.

"Weiss- Let go," she begged. "You're too light. You'll get p-pulled in, too."

"Then so be it!" Weiss snapped. "I'm not letting you go, Blake!"

The fairy grimaced, already feeling herself slipping off, her lack of weight once more working against her. She needed to support Blake better in order to pull her back up onto the rock.

Weiss needed to get closer to her, which meant only one thing.

Without a second thought, Weiss slid her lower half into the raging water, holding onto the rock with just one hand now and pushing Blake's back with all her might. The beast girl wailed at the sight of Weiss jumping in with her.

"Weiss, no-!"

"Blake!" she shouted above the water. "Just _go!_ " She gave another almighty shove, and Blake had no choice.

She gripped the contours of the rock and kicked against the water, then hauled herself up and over the edge. Balanced on her knees now, she whipped around just as Weiss lost her hold on the rock.

Blake shot out her hands.

One missed.

Somehow the other just barely managed to snag on Weiss' dress.

But the fairy already felt herself going under.

A wave crashed over Weiss' head, and she went down, cold water swirling around her as her world became dark. She gasped for air that didn't come, water filling her lungs instead.

However, just before she could be thrown into the turbulent current once more, she felt herself being lifted up against all odds.

Blake poured her strength into dragging Weiss to the surface, grabbing wherever she could to ensure the fairy was secure in her arms.

Blake wasn't letting go. Not again.

Even when she was waterlogged, Weiss didn't weigh very much at all. As soon as her dress was out of the water, it was easy to pull her out onto the boulder, lying her down on her back.

Blake frantically looked her over to find Weiss' eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing. She quickly put her palms together and balanced them at the center of Weiss' chest, then gave several fast pumps.

She'd been trained in her clan to do this if a child ever fell into the river, but Blake had never actually performed this act before. Weiss was so much thinner and more fragile. Blake feared she might break her ribs.

But it was a risk she was forced to take.

She pumped Weiss' chest, lightly but firmly, praying she wouldn't cause damage.

To her utmost relief, Weiss sputtered, and Blake gently turned her onto her side. Weiss coughed up mouthfuls of water, shaking as she gasped for breath.

Knowing she was alright now, Blake went limp beside her, keeping Weiss in her arms as they both lay, shivering, on the drenched boulder, their toes still dangling off the sides.

For a moment, they caught their breaths, clinging desperately to one another, fingers trembling as they traced patterns over damp backs and through soaking hair.

Once Blake felt she could open her eyes again, she looked down at Weiss, looking smaller than ever with her clothes clinging tightly to her form.

She gasped when she noticed a patch of red seeping from Weiss' stomach. Blake whimpered, trailing a hand down to cover it gently with her palm.

"You're bleeding..."

She could feel Weiss still heaving for breath with her entire body. She was cold, all except for the warm blood trickling through her dress.

The fairy panted for a moment longer, until she, too, could look up and find Blake's eyes.

"It's... nothing..." she rasped. "Just... from the rocks..." Her eyes didn't leave Blake's for a second. "Are... Are you alright?"

Blake reached out to brush her fingers over Weiss' neck, then her cheeks.

"I'm fine."

Weiss sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I knocked you off-"

"And you saved my life," Blake silenced her.

Weiss blinked dizzily, but nodded, knowing Blake didn't blame her for this.

"I'm just-" Weiss coughed again and turned her face away. Blake hushed her, patting her back softly and pulling her close.

It was another few seconds before Weiss recuperated and found her voice once more.

"I'm just... so glad you're okay..."

She moved her shaking arms until her wet hands could cup either side of Blake's face. Weiss leaned forward a little from where she lie and kissed her lips.

Breathless as they both were, it didn't last long, but Blake kissed her back. They pulled apart when they needed to gasp for air, and then kissed once more, sharing their breath and pushing much-needed air into each other's bodies.

After a moment, the kisses were no longer short and clipped. Their hearts and breathing slowed, and their kisses deepened.

The fear was washed away, and in its place was relief, and something else - something much, much warmer.

Blake could feel that warmth spreading throughout her body now, battling against the biting cold of the river. It spread through her person, flickering like a flame during a frigid winter.

Weiss was warm, too. In fact, she realized that warmth was _coming_ from Weiss.

When their next kiss ended, Blake opened her eyes to behold a peculiar sight.

Weiss' entire body was aglow, but it wasn't because of the moonlight or the water's reflections this time. The glow was coming from her skin, her hair, her wings.

Slowly, Blake looked Weiss over again, fearing something was happening to her.

But Weiss didn't seem frightened at all. When she reopened her eyes, there was a light in her gaze, and a smile on her lips.

A single word slipped from the Fairy Princess' lips.

"Blake..."

The beast girl's ears were flat against her head, not knowing what to make of this.

"Weiss, are you okay...?"

The fairy didn't respond, at least, not through words.

Slowly, Weiss pushed herself up, keeping one arm around Blake's waist to help her up as well. Blake couldn't see the girl's eyes, for Weiss' head was bowed and her hair shielded her face.

"Weiss...? What-"

She was cut off when the girl suddenly wrapped both arms around Blake, holding to her tightly. She returned the embrace, resting her chin on Weiss' shoulder.

Warmth spread through Blake's body again, even more poignantly than before. The glow around Weiss seemed to grow stronger as well. She could feel Weiss' heartbeat against her own, thumping strongly.

Before she could ask more questions, Blake's eyes were drawn to Weiss' back.

Two matching shapes of glimmering white spread out on either side of Weiss' body.

Her wings that had previously been limp and colorless were now blue and shining brighter than the moon.

They flapped once – experimentally – and a small wave of dust emitted from them.

They moved again, then again.

Blake felt herself being lifted slowly.

Weiss kept hold of her, and Blake did the same, clinging as tightly as she dared.

Their toes soon were the only things still brushing against the rock, and then even those were suspended in midair.

Despite her wings being wet, despite her natural lightness in weight, despite her fear and fatigue, despite everything, Weiss was flying.

Even with Blake's added weight on top of Weiss' own soaking clothes and aching body, she was able to lift them both effortlessly.

They ascended, higher and higher until they were halfway up the waterfall, locked in an embrace beneath the moonlight.

Blake hadn't spoken yet, she'd hardly dared to breathe, fearful that this was all just some kind of illusion. She didn't want to break this spell, whatever it may be.

But she needed to know.

Keeping her arms around Weiss' waist, she slowly pulled her head back so they may see one another's eyes. Blake's gaze flashed briefly down to the river far below, and to where Ruby and Yang were watching them with baffled expressions.

Blake trembled at this height, but Weiss' arms were strong around her back and shoulders, and she knew she wouldn't fall.

"Weiss..." she whispered. "What... how...? We're not back in your forest yet. There's no magic in these parts, is there?"

When she next glimpsed Weiss' eyes, Blake was speechless at their beauty, incomparable to anything she had ever known before. Their blueness danced with silent laughter, triumph, and something more.

Something warm.

Weiss let out the giggle from her smiling lips.

"No," she said. "This isn't the same kind of magic. This is... a _different_ kind of magic." Leaning in, she pressed a swift kiss to Blake's cheek. "This is love."

Blake felt her throat closing up a little, both touched and hurt by those words. Her ears drooped, as did her gaze.

"But... I don't understand. We've known that... for a while now... haven't we?"

Weiss nodded, bumping her head lightly against Blake's to get her attention once more.

"Yes," she replied. "But before... until now... that love was stifled. We were always scared of it. Of how our people might react. Of each other. Of ourselves..." she explained.

"But just now... when I went to save you... I realized. You've nearly died for me many times already, and I've put my own life at stake for you, as well. When I was under that water, part of me was regretting that I'd never get to see you again. That I couldn't express or convey this love properly to you. But the other part of me knew you would save me. That you wouldn't let me die."

She kissed Blake's wet nose this time, nuzzling against her.

"What we had before _was_ love, Blake. Of course it was. But _this_ is love without fear. And that is a magic all its own."

She continued to hover there in place, pulling Blake in for yet another kiss.

And Blake could sense the difference in this kiss, as opposed to the ones they'd shared in the past. It really was fearless, undeterred, unbridled.

It was the least she could do to return it full-force, releasing her inhibitions and letting the wind take them far enough away, to someplace unimportant where they wouldn't return.

Blake understood Weiss' feelings now.

She didn't care anymore.

She didn't care what the beasts or fairies did about it anymore.

Weiss loved Blake, and Blake loved Weiss back.

They weren't scared of their feelings anymore – they drew strength from them instead.

When their present kiss ended, both girls knew where their hearts were in all of this.

Carefully, Weiss spiraled down, keeping Blake close to her and controlling their combined weight. She lowered them down toward where Ruby and Yang were eagerly waiting, and paused just a few feet above the ground.

Then, she let them down gently, until their feet touched the cool grass.

The squirrel and bear were ecstatic.

"Wow!" Ruby squealed. "You flew, Weiss! You really flew!"

"You guys okay?" Yang asked.

Blake cast a quick glance to the red spot on Weiss' dress, but it seemed to have already stopped bleeding.

"Yes," she replied.

"Better than we have been," Weiss added truthfully. "But as you can see, we no longer need to waste time climbing the cliff side."

"Right," Yang said. "You two fly on over and we'll catch up!"

"That's the thing," Blake said. "We don't know what we'll find when we get back home. It could be dangerous. We don't want you two getting caught up in it. So please stay here, at least until you can know if it's safe up there."

Yang frowned, and Ruby's tail drooped.

"But-"

"Ruby..." Weiss said kindly. "You've both helped us so much. Without you and Yang, Blake and I never would've made it this far. We're forever grateful. Should things clear up between the beasts and the fairies, you can be certain I'll come find you again and thank you properly," she promised. "But for now, Blake and I have got to go. You understand, don't you?"

Ruby chittered a sigh, but nodded.

Weiss let go of her hold on Blake only briefly and opened her arms to the red squirrel. Ruby scampered over and jumped into her chest, and Weiss hugged her gently.

"Thank you, Ruby." Weiss kissed her head between the ears.

Likewise, Blake knelt down to wrap her arms around Yang's shoulders.

"You two take care," she said. "I hope... Weiss and I will be able to see you again someday."

Yang sighed and moved a little closer to her.

"Don't worry about us. I hope you guys can get things figured out."

"Thank you."

A moment later, Blake released Yang, and Ruby hopped down from Weiss' arms to take her rightful place on her sister's back once more.

Weiss beckoned Blake close to her, and the beast girl obliged, wrapping her arm and tail around Weiss' waist.

"Good luck," Ruby said to them.

"Thank you."

With that, Weiss fluttered her wings to life and took off slowly, keeping a firm hold on Blake. Yang and Ruby smiled up at them, and the bear chuckled to herself.

"Y'know what they say. Love gives you wings."

"Wow, Yang." Ruby rolled her eyes.

With their parting behind them, Weiss and Blake didn't know if they'd ever meet the sisters again. It would all depend on what awaited them atop that cliff.

And that would also determine what would become of Weiss and Blake themselves.

Weiss flew onward, keeping a good distance between them and the waterfall. Blake clung to the fairy's dress, still trying to get used to such a small girl bearing her weight so high above the ground.

Weiss could tell Blake was a bit uneasy, and the fairy addressed her nervousness.

"Don't worry. I won't drop you."

Her words were reminiscent to Blake's own promise back at the waterfall. Still, the dark-haired girl was unsure.

"But my weight... I must be a burden."

Weiss responded by slowly twirling them both around, lifting Blake with ease.

She kissed her nose once more and smiled.

"Love is no burden, Blake."

With that, even Blake smiled.

They held onto one another, and Weiss glided upward, carrying them to the top of the cliff.

Their fates waited just beyond.

* * *

 **A/N: Now the final climax is really upon us. What will their respective clans think of this romance when they're on the brink of war?**

 **If you like my work, please support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	15. High Tensions

**Since Winter has been introduced in canon, I'm very glad to see that my characterization of her in this fic is fairly accurate, even though I wrote it long before volume 3 aired. But as for their father, we'll just have to imagine.**

 **A/N: We'll see Dash's interpretations of Blake's father in this chapter! You can look up the AU's art to see what he looks like~**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 15. High Tensions

The moon hung ominously over the forest, its light shrouded in strips of grey clouds and blocked by the foliage.

Tonight, the brightest glow came not from the moonlight, but from the group of fairies descending to the forest floor, their dust floating up and filling the air behind them.

Their king led them, followed closely by his first daughter – despite his many efforts to try and convince her to stay behind, she'd adamantly refused.

"I need to see my sister," Winter mumbled.

And the King couldn't argue with her. He needed the very same thing.

They flew slowly, weighed down not only by the bags of stones they carried, but by the heavy hearts from the fact that they were more or less surrendering their freedom to the beasts.

But to have their princess back unharmed, and to get out of this situation without violence were the main objectives in the fairies' minds.

Of course, the beasts were different.

Adam had worked hard to convince his people about the deal he'd made. It was difficult, because he knew many of them would disapprove of his tactics.

He wasn't the leader of the clan – far from it – he was only the leader of a deviant portion of them. Not every beast attacked the fairies when they came down to the river to fetch water. Disputes about how they treated their winged neighbors broke out daily in the beasts' camp. Many knew it was foolish to aggravate a clan of fairies, and so they vehemently avoided Adam and his group.

But those who followed him were of a different nature, one hungry for power and thirsty for war. They wanted to reign over the forest with the fairies' magics.

It was Adam's desire to use those magics to overpower not only the fairies, but also the beasts who didn't agree to follow him.

He had managed to gather a group of nearly four-dozen beasts that night, all armed and itching to fight. They littered the ground all along the river where the fairies had been told to rendezvous with them. Every bush, every shadow concealed a beast or two, crouched low, eyes burning with eagerness.

Only Adam himself and several other beasts stood uncovered beside the river.

Behind him stood a large, burly beast, with dark hair covering most of his face and chest. He was one of the few gathered here who wasn't wearing a mask over his face. Broad shoulders and muscular arms demonstrated the reason why he had no weapons on his person.

His name was Emile. He had put on the guise that he wished to follow Adam into war, acted like a greedy, power-hungry fool himself in order to trick the bull-horned boy.

But in reality, he was only here for one reason.

His daughter had gone missing several days ago, and even a thorough search of the nearby woods had come up empty-handed. Adam had told him this was because the fairies were keeping her captive.

 _Almost_ all of the beasts gathered here knew of tonight's deceitful terms.

Adam had lied to the fairies in telling them he had captured their princess. But all of the beasts knew they had no princess in their possession.

Once the fairies handed over their gems to realize they were getting nothing in return, surely a fight would break out, hence why all the beasts were armed.

But not Emile. The only reason he had agreed to follow Adam here tonight was because of the promise that he would get his own daughter back.

Even now, the large beast man stood with his massive arms crossed, towering behind Adam and grunting every few seconds.

"I still fail to understand how they could have taken Blake," he growled to the boy. "She is an excellent fighter, and an even more skillful master of evasive maneuvers. It is not the fairies' way to take hostages."

Adam shrugged his shoulders, but didn't look back at the older man.

"These fairies would do anything to get their princess back," he uttered. "They'll hand over Blake tonight."

In truth, no one knew what had happened to Blake. She had gone out into the forest a few mornings ago and never returned.

Perhaps she'd run away or gone rogue, or perhaps she'd fallen victim to unfortunate circumstances. All Adam knew was that the fairies didn't actually have her.

But this was a part of his plan as well. As soon as the fairies' stones were in his possession, he would reveal that he had no princess to give them in return. When Emile demanded Blake's return from the fairies, Adam would declare they must have killed her.

By then, both sides would be infuriated enough to attack, but the victory would go to those who possessed the magic stones.

Adam had thought it all through. He was going to succeed.

Minutes passed, and with each one, he could sense the anticipation thickening in the air.

His people were ready.

The fairies didn't make them wait much longer.

From the distant treetops, Adam could just barely make out a faint glow. Immediately, he called out to his army.

"Get ready."

Emile stomped a hairy bare foot forward, tail lashing, his chin tilted upward and eyes seeking the fairies who allegedly held his only child captive.

Before long, the fairies became visible, fading into focus. Their long, flowing, light-colored robes and dresses fluttered in the night air, wings curving gracefully.

Their stature was a dire contrast the beasts who wore dark colors and crouched menacingly in the shadows. The handful who revealed themselves stood at the ready with Adam in the forefront.

All eyes were on the trees now.

The fairies glided down, their natural elegance spoiled by the stern, furious expressions on their faces. To Adam's great pleasure, he could see that they were all carrying small bags of stones.

When they neared the ground, half of the fairies remained fluttering in the air while the other half went all the way to the forest floor.

The King himself led the latter group, accompanied by only the best and most able guards. He had ordered Winter to stay above with the rest.

Those on the ground folded their wings, keeping their postures erect and important as they advanced. The poise with which they walked hardly suggested they were about to walk into a potential fray, but such was a fairy's appearance.

The beasts – those visible and those hidden – watched their every step. The fairies had weapons, too.

The air was thick with tension, so pregnant it was already about to burst.

But when the Fairy King came to a halt just several paces away from Adam, he spoke with a calm, almost terrifying politeness.

"Greetings, beasts," he said loudly. "All of you."

His additional words subtly implied that he knew full-well about the ones hiding in the forest. The King passed his gaze around before settling on Adam's masked face. He waited expectantly, but perhaps not patiently.

Adam smiled wryly and dipped his head in a false display of respect.

"Good evening, fairies," he began. "Let's skip the formalities. I believe we had a deal."

* * *

The forest swirled around them as Blake and Weiss hurried for home at long last.

Weiss' wings carried them almost effortlessly at first, bearing their combined weight with ease after finding a newfound strength to draw from her intense emotions.

Weiss had pulled one of Blake's arms over her shoulders and held onto her wrist to keep her in place, using her free hand to support Blake's back.

Likewise, the beast girl clung to Weiss' waist with one hand, doing her best not to move around or hinder the princess in her flight.

They flitted through the trees, flying probably as high up the trunks as where the beasts' territories ended and the fairies' began.

It was evident that Weiss had been planning to go to her father first, to find him at home and explain everything to him before taking Blake to her own home and doing the same.

It was their hope that they could somehow convince their parents and their people to come to a truce of sorts if they realized that the Princess of the Fairies was unharmed - and more importantly - that she could love and be loved by a beast.

It very well may have been wishful thinking, and should their peoples disapprove, Weiss and Blake really might consider running away together. As long as their people knew they were both safe and that the other species held no blame in the predicament, they would leave everything behind if need be.

 _That_ was how strongly they cared for one another.

Enough to leave behind all they had ever known.

Enough to give flight back to a fairy who had lost her magics.

Enough to make a beast girl, who thought she'd never be accepted, feel loved.

Enough to change their peoples' hearts and their ways of thinking.

Blake could sense Weiss was taking them higher now, bound for the fairies' dwellings high above. But it was Blake herself who stopped their ascent.

"Weiss, hold on..."

Her ears flicked and swiveled as they picked up on a distant sound. It was muffled by the natural noises of the forest, but Blake could just barely discern it with her enhanced hearing. Yet she knew she could listen better if they were still for a moment.

Weiss quickly heeded her words, letting them down onto the nearest branch that could support them. Blake could tell the girl had needed this rest after so many days of eating next to nothing, and now having to expend most of her energy in flight.

As Weiss caught her breath, Blake closed her eyes and listened.

Beneath the high-pitched chirping of the crickets, she could make out a lower, more stifled sound. It was choppy and occurred in different tones, passing back and forth.

She immediately knew they were the voices of people talking.

And she recognized one of those voices all too well.

"Adam..." she mumbled.

Weiss recalled that was the name of the boy with the bull horns. She gasped lightly, tightening her grip on Blake.

"Where?"

There was already fear in her voice; she didn't like the idea of a beast like Adam being so close to fairy territories, especially in the unfolding uncertainties of what was going on.

Blake was silent for another minute as she tried to hone in on the direction the voices were coming from. Once she was certain, she opened her eyes.

"That way. They're on the ground."

Weiss didn't waste a second. She tightened her hold on Blake once more and took off, beating her wings as quickly as possible. She swerved to avoid branches and thickets, moving a little better now that she was so familiar with this territory.

But Blake could feel Weiss weakening already, struggling to keep them both up. She'd expended so much energy within such a short period of time, and her magics had only just returned to her.

Once they were close enough for Blake to be able to discern what was being said by those up ahead, she gently coaxed Weiss to stop.

"Let's land here. You need to rest for a minute. Catch your breath, Weiss."

The princess was conflicted, her eyes pained and wanting to get home to her father and sister as soon as possible. But she could feel for herself the truth of Blake's words with the fluttering flaps of her wings.

Gradually, Weiss took them down to the forest floor, sinking to her knees breathlessly. Blake knelt beside her, keeping one hand on the girl's back and the other on Weiss' stomach by means of support.

As Weiss rested for a moment, Blake perked her ears and focused her vision ahead. Her gaze cut through the darkness, until she could discern a faint glow ahead. It was the same glow that surrounded Weiss faintly now, one unique only to fairies.

She could see the beasts as well – dozens of them – some hidden and some out in the open. A group of fairies had landed to face them.

There was a sense of relief that washed over Blake then in knowing for certain that no battles had occurred within the four nights since Weiss had gone missing. But she knew that unless they did something soon, a war could break out before their very eyes.

By now, Weiss could speak again, and she reached out to touch Blake's forearm lightly.

"Blake..." she whispered. "What's going on?"

The beast girl swallowed.

"I'm not sure... It looks like they're having a meeting or something."

"A meeting? Between beasts and fairies? That can't be good..."

"We should-" Blake swiftly silenced herself as there was movement up ahead. One of the fairies advanced from his group, and made himself instantly noticeable. Blake nodded eagerly toward him. "Weiss, look!"

"Papa?" Weiss' voice demonstrated just how joyful she was to see him. Tears jumped into her eyes, and she made a move to get up.

But Blake was forced to hold her back, tugging her gently by the wrist.

"Hold on. We don't know what they're doing," she warned. "Everyone is armed."

"All the better to go to them _now_ before they can start fighting," Weiss begged.

"But Adam thinks you're dead, remember? If he sees you now, he might kill you."

"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Weiss hissed. "We've got to-"

She was cut off by a chillingly familiar voice, one she could still hear shouting from the cliff top behind her as she fell, one that made the roots of her hair hurt.

"It's a pleasure, fairies," Adam said. "I'm glad to see you've brought your payment. But just to be sure, you need to show me what's inside your bags."

Blake and Weiss watched in silence from between the bushes as the group of fairies shifted. They all revealed small pouches in their hands, and at the King's signal, pulled the strings to open them.

Weiss and Blake both gasped at what was inside. Dozens of magic gems filled each one, various colors shimmering in the night like miniature rainbows.

Dismayed, Weiss looked up to see that every fairy had a bag full, even those hovering farther up above.

"They must have just about every gem we've ever found..." she rasped.

"This isn't right," Blake fretted. "The day I found you, I was out looking for a way for us to collect our own gems _without_ having to take them from fairies."

She could see the greed in Adam's grin, even from this distance and even with his mask on. He reached out and tried to snatch the bag from the nearest fairy guard, but the fairy dodged his attempt.

"Not so fast, lad," the Fairy King chided. "You'll not be having any of our gems until I've got my daughter back safely as promised."

Blake felt Weiss tense beside her; their guesses as to what was going on had been correct.

Weiss snorted angrily when Adam growled in her father's face.

"And _you_ won't be getting your princess until I have those gems, _Your_ _Majesty_."

The king hesitated, uncertain. If he was under the impression that the beasts had Weiss captive right now, he didn't want to risk upsetting them, lest they hurt her as punishment.

But Weiss was still confused as to how Adam was planning to pull this off.

"He doesn't have me captive! What's he going to do?"

"What he does best," Blake muttered. "Lie."

As Weiss had expected, her father seemed dubious now. He faced Adam with a threatening look in his eyes, one he didn't show lightly.

"Let me see her."

But Adam refused.

"Hand over the stones first."

Tension crackled almost visibly between them, and the surrounding beasts and fairies all seemed to inch forward, sensing a fight was almost inevitable.

Weiss couldn't sit still any longer. She'd regained enough of her strength.

"Come on," she grunted, grasping Blake's hand. "We're putting an end to this nonsense right-"

" _ENOUGH!_ "

This time, Weiss cut herself off abruptly with a yelp as a booming voice shook the clearing, so much so that even the water in the nearby river seemed to jump. She jolted and froze in place, terrified for a second until she realized the shout hadn't been addressed at her.

Blake held tightly to her hand, her ears lifting up at the familiar sound.

"Fairies," bellowed the deep, masculine tone. "Where is my daughter?"

At the sound of the voice, Blake's ears shot up as tall as they could go.

"Dad?"

Weiss instantly flashed her a confused glance.

"Your father is here? He's with Adam?"

"No, I..." Blake shook her head, quickly trying to explain everything. "My family was one of the ones who never agreed with the more aggressive part of the clan who were hostile toward the fairies.

"My people had always sought the magic stones within the forest, but were never any good at finding them, so some of them started to steal from the fairies. My family and a lot of others always disapproved and tried to stop them from ambushing your people.

"In fact, most of the clan was against it, but Adam and his group always managed to slip away and act out on their own. It's because of _them_ why our species have become so wary and hateful of one another. But the majority of us never _wanted_ to cause trouble. So why is my dad with Adam now...? And why is he asking for me?"

Weiss tried to register everything in her mind. But her own father ended up giving them all the answers they needed.

"What is this now?" the Fairy King demanded. "Why am _I_ being accused of harboring a stolen daughter? _You_ beasts are the ones who have kidnapped _my_ daughter as ransom for the stones! We have no hostages!"

"Lies!" Adam hissed. "I saw your fairies take Blake! You've probably killed her for revenge!"

"Outrageous deceit!" the King hollered. "You _savages_ had best hand my daughter over or else we shall be forced to take violent action!"

Shouts and hollers erupted through the quiet forest. Bows and arrows were drawn, crude swords were unsheathed, growls ripped from throats.

Blake and Weiss had seen and heard enough.

They burst from the bushes together and made a mad dash for the clearing beside the river.

"Father! Please stop this!"

"Adam, fall back!"

But their shouts were drowned out as hundreds of voices rose up into furious shouts of accusation from both sides.

"Monsters! Return our princess!"

"Give us the gems!"

"Liars!"

"Weaklings!"

Amongst the shouting, Adam gave his commands to charge.

"Attack! Take the stones!"

And even the King of Fairies was forced to resort to fighting.

"We have no other options. Open fire!"

Weiss and Blake cried out desperately until their voices cracked in desperation.

"Father, _no!_ "

"Adam, stop!"

But it was too late.

Both armies surged forward simultaneously, shouting in fury and fear.

The fairies all took to the air and didn't leave behind a single gem as they took aim with their arrows from above.

The beasts swarmed down below, many climbing up into the trees to get closer to their opponents.

And then the weapons were flying, cutting through the air and tearing through flesh.

The beasts dodged whatever they could, and the fairies used their magical barriers. The massive, heaving crowd of bodies covered every inch of the air and ground, arrows flying and swords slashing in a vicious and truly terrifying scene.

And Blake and Weiss had ran directly into the center of it all.

Their cries couldn't be heard, and no one was seeing them as the found girls that had been missing. They only saw them as targets, enemies.

Blake stuck close to Weiss' back, forced to draw her own small blades to fend off any attackers. But she wasn't lunging at fairies; she was parrying her fellow beasts who sought to harm Weiss.

"Traitor!" one barked at her. "Why are you defending a fairy?!"

"Stop this!" she yelled back. "Listen to what we're saying, damn it!" She knocked two of them down to the ground, then whipped around to seek out Weiss. Her blood felt like it caught fire as she saw that the girl had been surrounded.

But although Weiss had no weapons on her person, she wasn't defenseless.

She utilized a bit of her magic to create a small barrier around herself, deflecting the blades of her attackers as she shouted for them to stop. She hoped the fairies up above would notice her magics and recognize her presence.

She too, turned to seek out Blake, catching sight of her golden eyes across the stretch of space separating them. Weiss pushed through the crowd with all her might, her magics keeping her protected for the moment.

Blake shoved away several other beasts with precise skill, throwing them aside or knocking them unconscious in her effort to reach Weiss.

But just before they could reach one another, Weiss heard a familiar voice from above.

"Weiss!"

The princess froze and looked up. Winter hovered far above, taking shelter behind her own magic barrier. She was shocked into silence to see that her sister was here now, voice failing her.

"Winter!" Weiss called back. "Find father! Tell him to call this off immediately! Please go!"

Weiss narrowed her gaze, imploring her sister to understand.

Thankfully, Winter asked no questions. She trusted Weiss had a reason for such a request in the midst of such inane violence, and instantly took off to locate their father.

However, Weiss didn't have the time to feel relief.

An almighty shove from a nearby beast discombobulated her, causing her to stumble. She lost her focus, and her barrier along with it. And she had no time to try and muster the energy to get it back.

Her eyes went wide in horror, her heart seizing.

Blake was drawing closer to her now, only a few yards away.

But her attention was only on Weiss.

She never saw nor heard the arrow shooting directly at her from behind.

Weiss screamed her name.

And then all went silent.

* * *

 **A/N: See you next week.**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	16. A Different Kind Of Magic

**Thanks for being patient for this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 16. A Different Kind Of Magic

Dead silence.

All of the violent writhing, shoving, and lunging came to an abrupt standstill within the course of a few seconds, every warrior on both sides alerted by the sound of a single, shrill scream.

The fighting paused in antebellum, arms and weapons lowering as all heads turned toward the source of the agonized wails.

It was almost unnerving how quickly such turbulence had skidded to a halt, but that only served to demonstrate just how awful the situation had become.

The crowds moved aside, some stepping and some flying, but neither side broke the ceasefire.

They could only listen.

Two girls lie crumpled in the center of the battlefield.

One wasn't moving.

Blake knew it should've been her.

That arrow had been aimed at _her_ back, and had it hit her, she might've been strong enough to survive it.

But Weiss had charged forward at the last second, throwing herself against Blake's side to push her out of the arrow's path.

And as a consequence, she had taken the devastating blow upon herself.

It had struck the center of her back, right between the bases of her fragile wings.

So there she lie, motionless in Blake's lap, the glow of magics already leaving her wings, ebbing weakly away, bit by bit.

Blake continued to scream.

" _NO!_ " she yowled. "Weiss... no-! W-Weiss... _please_ , no..." The beast girl pleaded, her voice a strangled mess of choked sobs as the tears started dripping down relentlessly.

Weiss was face-down in her lap, the cruel wooden body of the arrow protruding from her spine, a line of blood staining her dress from where the sharp point was embedded.

Carefully, Blake balanced her trembling hands over Weiss' still shoulders, immediately concerned by the difference in movement between the two of them.

The fairy was limp, her lightweight body feeling heavier than it should, heavier than Blake had ever known it to. She was still easy to move, but that only worried Blake further.

She didn't care about the crowds gathering around them.

She didn't care about the war or Adam or any of that anymore.

The only thing she cared about was the only thing on her lips, mind, and heart.

" _Weiss_..."

She gingerly slipped her arms beneath Weiss', wrapping the girl in her embrace and pulling her slowly to her chest. She cradled Weiss' head and the small of her back, making an effort to stifle her own sobs so she could focus.

The fairy's chin now rested on Blake's shoulder, and the beast girl's ears flicked as she listened for breath. Her hands remained still, trying to feel if Weiss' lungs were expanding at all.

She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or pained when she detected a weak movement, an agonized pattern of shallow breaths a thousand times worse than her own sobs. There was a flicker of a heartbeat, fast and scared against Blake's chest.

Weiss was still alive.

Gently, Blake pulled away a few inches, just enough so she may see the girl's face.

Her white skin was still covered in little flecks of mud from their journey together, and tear trails from previous grievances where visible as well.

But her eyelids fluttered, the dark lashes brushing frantically against her pale cheeks as she struggled to keep them up. Her vision was hazy, blurring in and out of focus, and with each blink, another tear fell down her face.

Blake sobbed again, brushing their cheeks together affectionately, kissing the girl's temple.

"Weiss... you-"

"I did... what I had to," she rasped.

Blake shook her head.

"You didn't _have_ to!" she wailed.

"Blake... I think you understand that I did... because I know you would've done the same for me."

Blake bit into her lip and ground her teeth together, stifling another scream. The fairy's wobbling words were only the truth, and she knew it.

"But, Weiss..." she whispered helplessly. "What can I-?"

Blake's soft question was cut off as a rush of motion sounded behind her.

Had she not had Weiss in her arms and crumpled to her knees like this, Blake would've whipped around and snarled at whomever it was. But as things were, she couldn't afford to move so much as an inch, lest she risk causing Weiss more pain.

So Blake gave out a loud, guttural growl, a furious sound that had only one clear meaning:

 _Don't come any closer._

The approacher seemed to understand her unspoken message.

Blake had noticed that by now a crowd mixed of beasts and fairies had surrounded them, their expressions horrified and helpless, much the same as how Blake was feeling.

Ears flat, she listened as the one behind her stepped around to the front slowly. She pulled Weiss closer protectively, snarling as she lifted her tear-stained face.

But her growl cut off with a gasp as she saw the man standing before her now.

"D-Dad...?"

Emile's large form seemed to block out all the others, keeping them at bay as he stared down at his daughter. His eyes were filled with confusion and grief; he couldn't even be relieved to have his daughter back if it was like this.

"Blake," he grunted. "What is this? Why do you hold the Fairy Princess in your arms?"

"D-Dad, I-"

But her attempt at explanation was stopped as another sound interrupted now. It wasn't the pattering of feet, but the fluttering of wings.

Two fairies harboring familiar silver hair descended. She recognized them as Weiss' father and sister.

The two landed without regard for Emile, their distraught eyes only on Weiss.

Blake swallowed her growl this time, turning her helpless gaze onto them.

Winter was supporting her father as he threatened to sway, his exhausted gray eyes locked on his motionless daughter.

"Weiss..." he uttered. "So the beasts _did_ have you all this time."

He knelt down and reached out for her, with every intention of collecting Weiss into his arms. Blake's ears shot back, her tail lashing out fretfully as the Fairy King neared them.

"No, p-please!" she cried, tightening her own hold on Weiss. "If you move her, i-it could cause her more pain."

The old fairy paused, his hand hovering just inches away from Weiss.

Then, he recoiled, his solemn eyes now fixated on Blake's scared ones.

"And why," he asked. "Should a beast such as yourself care so deeply for my daughter?"

It hadn't been a hostile question. He'd asked her with only curiosity, clearly confused as to why Blake was behaving this way.

Winter helped her father to his feet again, taking him a pace back until he stood beside Emile. They weren't enemies in this moment, simply fathers.

Blake swallowed another sob as her gaze flashed between the two of them, occasionally going back to Winter as well. They deserved an explanation.

"I-I-"

But again, she was thwarted, this time much more violently than the previous times.

Rather than the sounds of slow footsteps or cautious wings, it was a trampling stomp that silenced her now.

" _Blake!_ "

Adam's voice shouted loudly enough to have her ears ringing and flattening. She looked up to see the masked face shoving through the crowd, shouting at her without any regard for who else was gathered there.

"Blake, you traitor!" he accused. "Why are you siding with them? Why is that fairy even here? I sent her over the waterfall myself! She should be dead! Don't tell me you saved her, you double-crosser!"

He continued to advance, steam snorting past his nostrils as his feet scraped up dust at the ground. "My plan was going perfectly, Blake. We were going to _win_."

He was so focused on her, so enraged by his plans being foiled, that his tunnel vision hadn't considered the two powerful men who stood in his path. He only halted when his view of Blake was cut off, replaced by none other than her father.

"How dare you speak to my daughter that way, you cur?" he snarled. "You knew all along, didn't you, Adam? You knew the fairies didn't have Blake captive."

It was Winter who cut in next.

"And _what_ is this about you pushing my sister over a waterfall?" she demanded.

Her father put a hand on her shoulder to hold her back, then took her place.

"Boy," he said in a dangerous tone. "You'd told me your people had my daughter hostage. You'd told me you'd been keeping her safe, while all along you'd been taking pride in the thought of having _killed_ her?"

Only now did Adam seem to realize what kind of trouble he was in. He stepped back, but the intermingled crowds behind him weren't happy either.

"You lied!"

"You did this so it would pit us against each other!"

"We nearly had a _war_ because of you! People might have _died!_ "

Adam was trapped with nowhere to run. As the yelling rose in volume, the beasts who had teamed up with him and gone along with spreading his lies were detained by the others. Emile himself grabbed Adam's arm.

"What you've done is unspeakable," he growled ferociously. "You and whomever assisted you with this plot will be persecuted and punished back at camp. You can be certain of that. But for now, you'd best _get out of my sight_."

He handed Adam over to several other beasts who dragged the thrashing boy off. Winter needed to restrain herself from casting a spell that would rot his horns.

The Fairy King kept a hard glare on Adam until he was out of sight. Then, he turned back to Emile.

"I cannot believe I was fooled by that boy."

"He's always been a cunning little bastard. But we'll see to it that we put an end to his ways. None of this was ever worth such violence."

The King nodded, then lifted his gaze to the fairies who still hovered above, shocked and uncertain.

"We have no reason to fight," he called to them.

He watched as his people descended to now stand amongst the beasts. The fairies sobbed for their princess, and even the beasts were dismayed by what had occurred here.

The horrors of seeing an injured child with an arrow in her back was a misery that conquered all borders.

None were immune to such terror, not even enemies.

A pacified silence swept through the crowd as the beasts and fairies looked on, not knowing what more they could do. At the very least, they put down their weapons and ceased their magic-usage in a display of peace.

Winter kept close to her father's side as she observed those who had gathered around, all warriors surrendering for the sake of ending the needless bloodshed.

"This war is over," she murmured. "But at what price?"

Her eyes traveled back down towards where her younger sister lie almost motionless within the arms of a beast.

Blake had watched everything through tearful eyes, and her gaze met Winter's now. The same silent emotions swirled in both of their gazes.

They were amazed at how the two groups had been united so swiftly once the problems had been weeded out.

But they were also disgusted that it had taken something as dire as _this_ to prompt it.

Winter dropped to her knees, and Blake almost growled at her, too. But the fairy didn't make a move to touch Weiss, knowing it would only upset Blake further.

"Weiss...?" Winter said. "Can you hear me? We're here now, father and I."

Blake used her head to nudge Weiss' a little.

All this time, the princess had been breathing shallowly, her body entirely limp, save from the feeble rise and fall of her chest. But when she heard her sister's voice, she seemed to get her bearings back a little.

"Winter?" She rasped. "P...Papa...?" She tried to turn around to seek them out, but found she couldn't move her body.

It wasn't that Blake was restraining her to keep her from moving.

Weiss simply couldn't move.

Her entire body was numb.

She could still feel Blake's warmth enveloping her, and she felt the sting of her own tears, but that was the extent of it.

With a whimper, Weiss managed to turn her face to one side. She saw her sister kneeling not very far away, fear teeming in her eyes.

Blake kept the princess close, helping Weiss turn her head by nudging her slowly.

But her eyes couldn't tear from the fairy's wings.

The glow that had surrounded them back at the river and all the while since then had faded from the tips, leaving Weiss' wings grey again, as they had been for the past few days. The magics were leaking out, until her wings were entirely colorless and transparent again.

Only a faint glow gathered at the base of her wings where the arrow was lodged.

Blood was still oozing out, staining her pure white skin, dress, and hair.

Blake murmured her name over and over, reminding Weiss that she was there.

"It's okay," she whispered. "Just breathe, Weiss. Y-You're gonna be okay..." The beast girl flashed her gaze up to Winter, her eyes screaming a silent question:

 _Won't she?_

Winter's eyes were sorrowful as she was forced to speak the awful response.

"The arrow hit her spine..." she said thinly. Her father and Emile were listening as well. "She'll live... but her wings..."

They could all see that Weiss' wings were no longer glowing.

The Fairy King swallowed dryly.

"She'll be paralyzed," he rasped.

Winter nodded.

"She'll never be able to fly again..."

Blake tensed at the verdict, but before she could protest, she felt Weiss gasp sharply. Weiss had heard their hushed voices and cried out defiantly.

" _No!_ It can't-" Her breath hitched suddenly, and her voice faded into a flurry of hiccups.

Blake comforted her as best she could, patting her back and nuzzling into her hair. The beast girl continued her lover's desperate denial.

"That _can't_ be it," she cried. "Weiss only _just_ got her ability to fly back! When I found her, she couldn't even use her wings. She had no magic left at all," Blake wailed. "She just got her flight back before we got here! Down by the river..." Blake choked on her words and bowed her head into Weiss' shoulder helplessly. " _No_..."

The two fairies before her shared a pained yet puzzled look with one another.

"She lost her magics when she ventured out of fairy territory," Winter recounted.

"But you said..." the King mumbled to himself. "You said she got her ability to fly back down at the river? Over the cliff? That's not a part of our territory. There are no magics there. How did she manage to fly?"

For that response, Weiss answered for herself.

"Because..." she wheezed. "It's because... I love Blake."

A stunned silence followed her words, but Weiss didn't let it continue. She went on.

"My love for her... was its own magic. It granted me flight again. I... truly love her..."

This was it.

If they hadn't figured it out by now, Blake's and Weiss' relationship had been unmistakably announced to everyone present here, their fathers included.

A few of the other fairies and beasts were surprised by the revelation, some were confused or unable to comprehend it.

But the confusion didn't last in their fathers' eyes. It had been clear to them from the instant they'd seen their daughters wrapped in one another's arms in the center of the battlefield.

Winter was among the baffled, her eyes darting between her sister and her father.

" _Love?_ " she repeated. " _My_ sister – _our_ princess – in love with a _beast?_ "

Her father was silent for a moment before giving a nod.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "It makes perfect sense what your sister said. Love is its own magic. Loving this girl is what gave her the ability to fly-"

"And in the end," Emile finished. "That's what took it away."

Blake realized what her father said was true.

Weiss had sacrificed so much for her. First her mother's hair band, and now her wings. The two things Weiss had held most dearly. Their worth to her was so deep, it couldn't be properly explained.

She'd given them both up for Blake's sake.

She'd saved Blake's life twice over now.

Weiss truly loved her.

Blake wasn't sure if her own feelings could ever be that strong.

"Weiss..." She whimpered, watching the last of the magical glow fade from the bases of Weiss' wings. " _I'm so sorry_..." Blake clung to her gently, but as tightly as she dared, feeling more wretched than ever before.

To her surprise, Weiss managed to move her arms, until Blake could feel thin fingers wrapping around her sides.

"Blake..." she breathed. "Do not be sorry for loving me. I don't regret this one bit. I don't care what our fathers or our people think of us. I love you."

With a trembling breath, Weiss moved back until she could see Blake's golden eyes, swelling and overflowing with tears. Weiss blinked away tears of her own and released a withering sigh.

"My wings... are a small price to pay if it means you are safe."

Weiss closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to Blake's, leaving no room for misinterpretation from the others about how the Fairy Princess felt towards the beast girl.

Blake cried softly and kissed her in return, keeping her close.

She almost expected the crowds to start shouting in outrage at them or demand to have them exiled.

But nothing like that ever happened.

The onlookers were shrouded in solemn silence. They seemed to regret their ways and their opposition to one another, realizing that their petty squabbles had cut off such relationships before they could even get the chance to blossom.

Their fathers shared a quiet glance.

Though the beasts had no set leader, Emile was a highly respected figure in their clan, and should he and the Fairy King come to a truce, they were certain their respective people would honor it.

They'd already shed enough blood for lesser reasons.

They came to the silent agreement that they would put an official end to the war between their species.

Enough had be lost already.

Those gathered were already starting to make peace, fairies and beasts alike grieving together for the princess' lost magics. The beasts were even going through the trouble of collecting whatever magical stones had been stolen or dropped and were returning them to the fairies.

Likewise, the fairies were using their magics to heal the wounds of the beasts.

It was an honorable sight in wake of such tragedy.

When Blake and Weiss parted, they appreciated the actions of their people, the mutual kinship that was already beginning to form. Weiss leaned in to kiss away some of Blake's tears.

"If... If this is the result of losing my wings – peace between our people, and having you safe – then I'll gladly accept it."

Blake nodded sadly, kissing the fairy's temple, brushing the backs of her knuckles over Weiss' cheeks to wipe her tears as well.

"Your selflessness very well may have saved us all, Weiss." Then, the beast girl looked to Winter, her eyes narrowing. "We should remove the arrow while she's still numb and can't feel the pain."

Winter nodded.

"I'll us my magic to heal her as I extract it. That way, she won't bleed as much."

Blake swallowed as Winter moved closer. Weiss tensed in her arms, clinging to Blake more tightly. Blake did the same.

"It's alright. I've got you." Blake kissed her once more, trying to distract Weiss and keep her mind off of what was going on behind her. "I love you, Weiss."

The princess nodded and bumped her small nose lightly against Blake's wet one.

"I love you too, Blake."

Winter had reached for the arrow, already emitting her own magics onto her fingertips so she may share them with Weiss.

But before she could make contact, she stopped. Blake peered curiously at her over Weiss' shoulder.

"What is it?"

She looked up to find their fathers both looking startled as well.

Panicked that something else was wrong, Blake flashed her gaze down to Weiss' back. She used a hand to brush the girl's long hair aside, fully revealing her wings and the arrow impaled between them.

Though Weiss' wings had lost their glow, the spot at her back where the weapon was embedded was now highlighted with a bluish hue. It was as though the magic had drained from her wings only to gather at the point where she'd been struck.

The blood-flow from the deep wound wasn't fast or heavy at all, but rather it had been slow all the while. Now, it seemed to stop altogether.

Blake held to Weiss firmly, not sure what to expect, not sure what was happening. Weiss clung to her with frightened hands.

"Blake? Wh-What's going on?"

"I-"

The dark-haired girl couldn't finish her reply.

Winter hadn't even touched Weiss-

-and yet the arrow was being removed.

The glow at the base of Weiss' wings seemed to be pushing it out on its own.

Her clothes, her skin, even her hair tie – the one Blake had remade for her – started to glow.

Blake watched as the arrow slid out inch by inch, until at last the bloodied tip had been entirely extracted.

Winter jumped, reaching out quickly to grab it and put it aside. But no rush of blood followed behind the sharp tip.

The magics swirled around at the center of Weiss' back, healing the wound almost instantly.

And then, something even more incredible happened.

The glow started to creep back into her wings. It followed the little trails of the membrane, filling the once-grey veins with a bright white all over again.

Blake's eyes followed the little bluish lines, a dusty glow already surrounding Weiss' body once more.

Everyone watched in bewilderment as the tips of the Fairy Princess' wings became sparkling white again, and remained as such.

Those gathered in the clearing were speechless, and even the crickets and breeze had seemed to stop in order to stare in awe.

A gasp from Weiss was what broke the silence and had Blake snapping out of her trance.

"Weiss?!" She pulled away as quickly as she dared, holding the girl's shoulders and waist to keep her steady. "Weiss, a-are you okay?"

"Blake..." she mumbled. "I can... I can _feel_ them. My wings..."

Weiss gave an experimental flap as the last of the numbness subsided and vanished. Her wings obeyed and moved from side to side, as strongly and healthily as ever before.

Blake's eyes lit up, and the pain in her heart melted away like frost in summer sunlight.

" _Weiss!_ "

With a joyful cry of her name, Blake squeezed Weiss into a vigorous embrace. The princess giggled between little sobs and kissed her again.

A unanimous disbelief filled the clearing, a feeling that soon transformed into elation. Cheers erupted, and the warriors embraced those around them without discrimination.

Winter got to her feet, sighing in shaky relief as she hugged her father, who needed to wipe his eyes. Emile stood beside them proudly as he watched his daughter smile genuinely for the first time he could remember in a long while.

But as relieved as he was, he was still confused about what he'd just seen, and naturally looked to the Fairy King for answers.

"What would you reckon that was, now?" Emile asked.

Winter wiped her eyes and provided her educated answer first.

"Weiss' defensive magics saved them. She was trying to protect your daughter, therefore her magic must've made a barrier of sorts. But there wasn't time to make one big enough to protect both of them entirely. So it focused at the point where the arrow struck," she guessed, trying to make sense of things as the thoughts came together in her mind.

"Which is why she didn't bleed as much... and why she can use her wings again. The magics must have stopped the arrow from reaching her spine, so her wings weren't paralyzed. It just took a while for her body to draw in all the magic it needed to push the arrow out, which was why her wings lost their glow..."

She smiled affectionately at her sister and the beast girl now, sitting in each other's laps and refusing to let one another go. "But now, her magics have returned."

" _That_ ," said her father proudly. "Is the power of love. It is a magic like no other." Here, he turned to Emile and smiled. "And it knows no boundaries."

The beast man nodded, comprehending exactly what this meant.

It didn't matter that one of them had darker skin that absorbed the shadows, and one had lighter skin that absorbed the light.

It didn't matter if one had animal-like ears and a tail, and the other had bird-like wings and magics.

None of it had ever mattered, or ever would.

Love didn't discriminate because of appearances.

Their souls had been drawn together.

It had been inevitable ever since their hearts had opened up to accept the other for all she was worth, and in turn had allowed herself to be accepted.

Their love would see to a new era – one of peace and cooperation.

Slowly, Blake helped Weiss to her feet, supporting the fairy until she'd found her balance once more.

It was only a few seconds before Weiss had looped her arms around Blake's shoulders and lifted them both up into the air again, twirling her and hovering high above the ground for all to see.

Blake let out a surprised yelp, which in turn had Weiss giggling and brushing their noses together once more. The dark-haired girl soon smiled, locking her arms in place around Weiss' waist, tearfully relieved to be able to both see and feel Weiss flying comfortably again.

Then, they kissed again, their tears now only for joy.

Those tears caught in the first rays of dawn as it shed its milky yellow light throughout the forest, granting color and warmth to the cold, dark night that was now behind them.

The forest was aglow in a jovial display of relief, magic and laughter filling the air along with the birdsong of a new day – a day that promised better things for them all.

The two girls parted briefly to rest their foreheads together.

"I love you, Blake."

"I love you, Weiss."

A familiar tail swished and coiled around the fairy's waist.

Weiss could feel Blake's purr tickling the back of her throat as they kissed once more.

Blake's keen ears picked up on the sounds of Weiss' wings, whispering as they waved slowly from side to side, supporting them both.

Weiss twirled them again as the crowds cheered, and the fairies and beasts started to dance in celebration.

This was the power of love – the _magic_ of it.

And now it was a magic that would continue to fill their forest for many, many lifetimes to come.

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 **A/N: I'm sorry I've always been a sucker for cliche endings ;~; Be sure to stick around for the epilogue!**

 **I'm glad we've seen more of Winter in the show by now and that my interpretation of her personality in this fic wasn't far off from the canon! (Though of course not the same can be said for their father, but I'm just so happy Weiss and Winter have a loving relationship with one another).**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	17. Epilogue - New Beginnings

**Here it is, the little finale to wrap up this fic! Thanks for sticking with it, you guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Epilogue

New Beginnings

Lithe feet carried Blake quickly through the forest, and though she might not have had wings like a certain someone, she felt as though she were flying anyway.

She was so excited to see Weiss again today.

It had been several days since they'd returned home to their territories together. Since then, the war between their species had been voided, and an agreement had been made between the beasts and the fairies that it had been unnecessary in the first place.

Weiss and Blake had suffered the exact same lack of knowledge as their entire respective species had.

Until the two peoples had gathered together to learn from one another, they had truly known nothing at all.

The fairies now knew why the beasts hunted and killed certain animals – for the sole sake of eradicating disease.

And they understood that not every beast had backed up the ambushes on the fairies in order to steal their stones. In fact, only the smallest fraction of them had been, but the fairies' own rumors had expanded the number to encompass the entire clan.

In reality, the beasts were very intelligent, resourceful people.

And the beasts now understood that the fairies' role in the forests was absolutely essential.

They were the only ones who could use magic properly, hence their painstaking journeys to search for stones and gems. It was their magics that protected the forests from natural disasters. The beasts realized their huts and dens would have been destroyed many times over from bush fires or heavy storms had it not been for the fairies' magics.

But it wasn't just their magics that made them essential.

The fairies taught the beasts how they constructed little homes for birds and bats to keep them safe, how they interacted with and befriended animals, how they healed and helped them and bonded with them.

The fairies gained much knowledge from the animals, and now they could share it with the beasts as well.

If there was a sick creature in the woods, the fairies would do their best to heal it. But if that failed, they would coat it in a barrier that wouldn't allow it to feel pain when the beasts began their hunt.

And the beasts helped the fairies in building homes for their animal neighbors. While the fairies kept to the wood-carving of the trees for arboreal creatures, the beasts used fallen branches, roots, stems, and tall grass to construct little homes for land-dwelling animals.

It hadn't been very long since they'd come to their understanding, but the forest was already teeming with life much more so than it had been when the environment had been threatened by their petty war.

Naturally, the fairies no longer confided themselves to the highest tree tops, and they no longer needed to fear being ambushed when they descended to collect water from the river. All of them drank freely now and without concern.

When the fairies touched the water, it purified it to an extent, making the minerals inside healthy and drinkable. When the beasts drank, they recognized the difference in the crispness of the water.

The river was sparkling again before long, shining brighter than ever before now that there was a newfound peace.

When the fairies and beasts put aside their misunderstandings and forgot about their misgivings, the entire forest felt it, benefited from it, and flourished.

Of course, those who had started the problems in the first place had been punished.

Blake's clan had debated what to do with Adam and his lackeys for nearly an entire day. But they'd all agreed that sending out a group of troublemakers into exile wouldn't bear any kind of good fruit for anyone.

So they'd decided to keep them under strict supervision at all times, limiting their freedoms until they'd proven to have learned their lessons.

In addition to having each species learn about the other, the past several days had been heavy with celebration.

The beasts had gathered the best fruits from the ground, and the fairies had gathered them from the trees. The magics helped the food regenerate swiftly, so there was a bountiful harvest to go around.

They feasted during the days, and held other festivities during the evenings. The fairies would sprinkle their dust to make the air glow, and then everyone would dance and sing.

It was rather hard to believe that only a few days ago, they'd all been shooting arrows at one another, and now they were all laughing and working together.

But it was a change no one was opposed to.

As Blake reflected on all of these events and new occurrences, she finally pushed through the last few bushes, until she arrived at a familiar, riverside clearing.

There were a few groups of fairies and beasts gathered on the shoreline. The beasts were teaching the fairies the best ways to fish – but not to eat the fish, only to gather a single scale from each before releasing it. They used these scales to make jewelry, which they then offered to the beasts as a sign of friendship.

As the younger ones played in the river, the adults were discussing their next project together. Blake emerged and greeted them, and they all paused to do the same.

"Meeting the princess?" one fairy boy guessed.

Blake blushed a little and nodded.

A delighted chuckle swept through those gathered.

While some had been hesitant about accepting a romantic relationship between the future Fairy Queen and a beast, they understood what Blake and Weiss had learned from one another. That – simply put – love knew no boundaries.

Even now, after only a few days of their peacemaking, Blake had seen several other intermingled couples of all kinds.

With the peace came new chances, new beginnings, new opportunities, and no one could ever hope to oppose that.

Blake stopped walking in the center of the clearing, then gaze up overhead. The sun was almost at the center of the sky, and she knew it wouldn't be long before-

"Oh, Blake!"

Right on time.

The beast girl scanned the treetops to where her ears had detected the voice. She spotted Weiss instantly, fluttering down toward her with an excited whirr of her wings and a beaming smile on her lips.

Blake smiled as well and opened her arms wide.

Weiss landed perfectly against her chest, giggling merrily as she peppered affectionate kisses all over Blake's face.

"How've you been this morning?" Weiss wondered as her toes finally touched the grass.

"I've been wonderful," Blake purred. "But now that you're here, I'm _much_ better." She kissed the fairy's nose and Weiss pecked her cheek.

Once they'd exchanged their flirtatious greetings, the two took a step back, their eyes still shimmering with joy.

"Right," Weiss said, clearing her throat in an effort to sound more professional than she was feeling. "So how are things going on your end?"

"Fine," Blake answered. "We've already built several dens for the deer to take shelter in when it rains. We've set up borders on the western side of the forest and the wolves are honoring them."

"That's a relief," Weiss sighed. "Things are going splendidly up high, as well. We've actually discovered a whole new patch of berries! They're very good. I'll have to fetch some for you later."

"Or better yet, just take me up."

"That is a possibility."

Blake hadn't been too fond of flying the first few times, but by now she was more than used to it. Despite Weiss' petite form, she was a very strong flier, even with Blake in her arms. Recently, she'd been working on a new spell that would help keep a fairy's wings protected from water, so that they may fly even when it rained.

Blake took the girl's hand and inquired as to how her studies were coming along.

"Oh, it's almost finished," Weiss reported proudly. "It should only be a few more days now."

"That's great," Blake purred, leaning in for another kiss. "Then we can go out together even when it rains."

"So long as it's not thundering, I'll take you up high," Weiss decided. "As soon as the sun breaks, you'll be able to see the rainbows up close."

"That sounds incredible."

As the two made plans for their future dates, they presently headed off on a little walk together. Keeping close to the river, they sauntered at a leisurely pace, un-rushed and carefree.

The forest was alive with the usual birdsong and movement of the squirrels above and rabbits below.

But to their surprise, the pair was soon coming to a halt as Blake's ears picked up on the sound of something larger. She tugged Weiss a step back, and the fairy opened her wings, preparing to gather Blake and fly if need be.

But it was soon made clear that they wouldn't have to do that.

"Ugh, Yang! You fuzz-brain!"

"Who you callin' a fuzz-brain, you _nut?_ "

"Yaaanngg..."

The familiar bickering was unmistakable.

A certain bear emerged from the undergrowth, carrying a red-furred squirrel on her back. The squirrel was presently sweeping her bushy tail across the bear's eyes, causing the cub to paw at her playfully.

Weiss and Blake lost their wary stances and their expressions immediately softened.

"Yang! Ruby!"

"What a pleasant surprise."

At the sound of their names, the two animals stopped in their sisterly squabbling and promptly looked up. Their eyes lit up, and big smiles curled their cheeks.

"Blake!"

"Weiss!"

They charged and scampered forward, and the beast and fairy had little time to react. Yang jumped at Blake, bowling her over and pinning her down into the grass, where she licked her face. Weiss was much luckier and was only tackled by a squirrel, whom she caught easily in her arms and cradled against her chest in a small hug.

"It's so good to see you again, Ruby. We were hoping to find you again soon."

"Yeah! Us too!" Ruby squeaked. "I mean, it's been three days since you guys left, and we hadn't heard or seen any fighting, so we figured it would be safe to come looking for you guys again. And boy, are we glad we did! The whole forest is happy!"

"That's a relief to hear," Weiss said, kissing the squirrel's head. "There won't be any more fighting between the fairies and beasts."

Ruby chittered excitedly and climbed onto Weiss' shoulder. From there, she looked down at her sister where she was smothering Blake in the grass.

"Yang, come on!" Ruby whined. "You're gonna crush her!"

"Whoops." Yang promptly climbed off the beast girl, and Weiss now giggled at the sight of her lover. Blake's long dark hair had been ruffled and licked into a tangle, her clothes were ruffled, and her face had been coated in slobber.

Blake groaned as she sat up and shook herself off. Weiss leaned down to take her hand and pull her to her feet.

"Geez..." Blake huffed. "Thanks, Yang. How am I supposed to kiss my girlfriend now that I'm covered in bear spit?"

" _Girlfriend?_ " Yang and Ruby repeated in unison, their tones high with interest.

The two girls both blushed, nodding shyly.

"Yes," Weiss murmured. "It's official."

Blake's ears flicked and she smiled bashfully, kicking one foot in the grass a bit as she took Weiss' hand. Weiss tugged her closer and nuzzled against her cheek.

Ruby's and Yang's faces were both covered by fur, but had it been possible to see blushes on their cheeks, it showed now.

"That's great!" Ruby cheered. "Congratulations!"

"Yeah, it's about time!" Yang laughed. "I mean, back when we were traveling, you two were always gettin' so buddy-buddy-"

"Yang, _shuuush!_ "

The two continued bickering for a moment, while Weiss and Blake got their bearings, smoothing out hair and clothes.

"Geez," Blake sighed. "Just throw me in the river. I'm covered in bear spit."

"No need."

With a wave of her hand, Weiss emitted a small stream of magic onto her girlfriend. It sent a cooling sensation through Blake, almost like a tiny, personal shower had come over her, but she wasn't wet at all. The magic cleaned her off within seconds, leaving her feeling refreshed and worthy of contact from a princess.

"There," Weiss hummed. "All better."

She kissed Blake's cheek sweetly, and the beast girl let out a purr.

By then, the sisters had finished their playful banter. Yang turned back to the girls and shook herself.

"Welp, we'd just wanted to stop by for a visit and make sure you guys were doin' alright. But we'll head out now."

"Head out?" Blake repeated. "You're not going home?"

Here, Ruby and Yang both shared a look. The squirrel replied.

"We don't really have any specific place to call home. We just wander wherever."

Blake felt a pang of sadness pass over her heart, and she felt Weiss' grip tighten on her hand as well. Clearly, the princess was having none of that.

"Nonsense," she snapped. "Perhaps that was the case in the past, but not anymore." She released Blake's hand so she may kneel down in front of the sisters, wrapping her arms around Yang's neck and patting Ruby's back.

"We'll make you a home. Right here in our territories. Blake and I can make it together, and our friends will help. We can make you a den of your own right beside Blake's, and right beneath my tree."

Here, she pulled back, her lips forming the most endearing of smiles. "You two will always have a home here."

Blake hadn't ever known a bear or a squirrel to cry before she'd met these two, and Weiss' words of promise made her tear up as well.

Yang and Ruby both wailed words of thanks and pressed themselves close to Weiss. Blake soon knelt beside them and joined in the embrace.

At last, she and Weiss directed Yang and Ruby where to go.

"Just follow the path we came on," Blake instructed. "You'll end up by the river near our homes. Once Weiss and I get back, we'll start building you a den."

"Waah, thank you thank you!" Ruby squealed in excitement. "Yang, we're gonna have a home!"

"Yeah, we are!" the bear grunted, nudging Ruby up onto her back. Yang turned back to the others and dipped her head. "See you guys there. And thanks."

"Don't mention it," Weiss smiled. She got to her feet and pulled Blake up beside her.

Together, they watched their friends lumber back the way they themselves had come, chatting excitedly together about the prospect of their new home with their new friends.

Blake's ears flicked fondly as she watched them pad out of sight.

"I'm glad they found us."

"Me, too," Weiss agreed. She then took both of Blake's hands in hers, twirling around to face her. "And I'm glad _I_ found _you,_ " she murmured, lacing their fingers together.

"Actually, I believe it was _me_ who found _you_ ," Blake teased.

"Technicalities."

Weiss wrapped her arms around Blake's shoulders, instead threading her fingers through that thick, black tangle of hair.

Likewise, Blake's hands found their way to Weiss' waist, looping around the small of her back beneath her wings, her fingers slipping over the smooth silver of her hair.

Their eyes met – crystal blue and sunrise gold – and without a word, they pulled one another into a tight embrace.

For a moment they were still and silent, savoring one another's warmth, her breath, her heartbeat. Fingers stroked through hair, eliciting blissful sighs as their minds took them back on a journey of memories from the past several days and nights.

Not long ago, they'd been mortal enemies for no reason at all.

But now here they were, kindling a sacred love that had never before been seen – the first of its kind.

It was a love that would carry on for eons to come, bringing peace, warmth, and light to the forest they dwelled within.

They pulled apart a moment later, only enough to share a heartfelt kiss.

Their lips pressed together fully, eyes closed and hearts soaring. Blake's tail found its usual spot at Weiss' hip, curling around her, ears perked tall in contentment. Weiss' wings unfurled, naturally fluttering to demonstrate her joy.

They held tightly to one another as they were lifted up. Weiss twirled Blake a few times, and Blake placed kisses everywhere she could. A veil of glowing dust spiraled down to the ground beneath them, causing the once-brown earth to sprout tiny buds and blossoms.

Weiss kissed her again.

Blake kissed her again.

"I love you."

"I love you."

They landed, sharing smiles and another embrace.

And then, hand-in-hand, they continued their walk together – the beast and the fairy.

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 **A/N: Ahhh it's over! I just remember how many days I spent writing this, all the weeks I waited to post new chapters for you guys. I know it was a little sloppy at times, but I hope you enjoyed the ride!**

 **Thanks again to Dash for letting me write about her AU!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


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